The Austrian Chancellor, Mr Viktor Klima, accompanied by his wife Sonja, will visit South Africa from 2-4 February 1999 at the invitation of Deputy President Thabo Mbeki. The Chancellor's delegation will include the Austrian Minister of Finance, Mr Rudolf Edlinger, and a large delegation of senior Austrian government officials, high-level businesspersons and members of the Austrian media.
The visit will enjoy a strong economic focus and will also afford both governments the opportunity to discuss and further promote issues of bilateral and regional interest at the highest level. Meetings have been scheduled with Deputy President Thabo Mbeki, Minister Trevor Manuel and Minister Alec Erwin. The Austrian delegation will also visit Robben Island and Saldanha Bay.
Chancellor Klima will pay a courtesy call on President Nelson Mandela. Given Austria's leadership role in the European Union (EU) as immediate past EU president and current member of the EU Troika, and South Africa's position as President of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) and Chairman of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM), discussions will also involve SADC/EU cooperation, current negotiations on a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) and the political situation in the region. EU/SADC relations formed a prominent part of Austria's EU Presidency which saw the holding of a number of important Southern African regional conferences. These included the conference on conflict prevention and the SADC/EU Joint Ministerial Conference in Vienna in November 1998, co-hosted or coordinated by the Austrian government.
Austria and South Africa enjoy excellent bilateral relations. Since 1994 a number of important agreements such as the Avoidance of Double Taxation Agreement and the Reciprocal Protection of Investments Agreement have been successfully concluded. High-level visits have included the visit by Deputy President Mbeki to Austria in September 1995 and in October 1997 and the constructive meeting between President Mandela and Chancellor Klima in Cardiff in June 1998, a visit by the Austrian Vice-Chancellor and Foreign Minister, Mr Wolfgang Schüssel, and a previous visit in 1995 by Chancellor Klima in his then capacity of Minister for Public Economy and Transport. These visits have underscored the healthy nature of bilateral relations between the two countries. Total bilateral trade amounted to R680.5 million in 1997 with South African exports to Austria contributing R234.1 million to that statistic.
Furthermore thousands of Austrian and South African tourists of all walks of life annually confirm the popularity of each other's respective country as tourism destinations - more than 25 000 Austrians visited South African shores last year. In the fields of Arts and Culture a constant exchange and interaction between the two countries have firmly established themselves with a number of South African performing artists achieving prominence in Austria.
Austrian development assistance to South Africa has focussed on capacity and institution building with particular emphasis on provincial and local government.
The Austrian business community in South Africa forms a very active and committed partner in the development of the country especially in the mining industry where a number of large projects can boast strong Austrian participation.
ISSUED BY THE DEPARTMENT OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS
PRETORIA
28 JANUARY 1999