VIENNA — Saudi Minister of Economy and Planning Faisal Al-Ibrahim and Austria's Minister of Labor and Economy Dr. Martin Kocher have signed a memorandum to enhance economic cooperation between the two countries. The signing ceremony was held on the sidelines of the Saudi-Austrian Joint Committee's ninth session in Vienna. Al-Ibrahim also met Norbert Totschnig, Austria's Federal Minister of Agriculture, Forestry, Regions and Water Management, to discuss various topics of mutual interest, including strengthening bilateral collaboration in the agricultural sector. The Saudi minister also discussed bilateral relations with Karoline Edtstadler, Austria's Federal Minister for the EU and the Constitution. The agreement aims to diversify and strengthen economic ties, including economic modeling, exchanging experiences and information, and encouraging cooperation in the fields of trade, industry, research and development, and tourism, in addition to a number of sectors of common interest. This step is considered an extension of the agreements in the economic, commercial, industrial and technical fields signed between the two governments since 2004. Highlights from the Minister of Economy and Planning's closing remarks at the Saudi-Austrian Joint Committee, the importance of constructive dialogues were held leading to valuable exchanges, such as finance, green technology, innovation, research and development, also the new era between Riyadh and Vienna is an opportunity to unlock the immense potential within our grasp. He also confirmed that in light of Vision 2030, Saudi Arabia has become an investment powerhouse, as the fastest-growing G20 economy in 2022. The IMF has forecasted the Saudi non-oil to grow more than 5 percent this year. .
