FACTBOX: Russia-Austria Relations

MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 04th October, 2018) Russian President Vladimir Putin and Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz held a summit in St. Petersburg on Wednesday, marking almost 95 years of their nations' diplomatic ties.

Diplomatic relations between the Soviet Union and the First Austrian Republic were established in 1924 but ended abruptly in 1938 after Austria was occupied by Nazi Germany. After the war ended, the ties were restored at the level of representatives and upgraded to embassies in 1953.

Austria's relationship with Russia has been growing steadily since the fall of the Soviet Union, with the countries maintaining their engagement at the highest levels.

Russian President Vladimir Putin went on a working trip to Austria in February 2001, followed by state visits in May 2007 and June 2014.

Austrian President Thomas Klestil returned the favor in June 2001 and came to Russia for a private visit in February 2004.

Austrian President Heinz Fischer took then part in celebrations in Moscow of the 60th anniversary of the Victory in World War Two on May 9, 2005, followed by an official visit in 2011.

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev met with Fischer in September 2009 in New York and in December 2010 on the margins of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) summit in Astana, Kazakhstan.

In January 2002 and December 2005, Austrian Chancellor Wolfgang Schuessel was in Russia on working visits. In November 2009, Chancellor Werner Faymann travelled to Moscow and was received by Russian then-President Medvedev and held talks with then-Prime Minister Putin. Putin flied then to Vienna in April 2010.

In October 2014, President Putin held a working meeting with Fayman on the margins of the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) in Milan, Italy. They discussed bilateral trade and economic cooperation, including joint energy projects.

Fischer paid an official visit to Russia in April 2016 to discuss cooperation on trade, economy, culture and humanitarian affairs, as well as international issues.

In June 2017, President Putin held talks with Chancellor Christian Kern on the margins of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum.

In February 2018, Chancellor Sebastian Kurz travelled to Russia on his first trip outside the European Union as the head of Austrian government. The talks covered the current state and outlooks for bilateral relations.

On June 5, 2018, President Putin met in Austria with his counterpart, Alexander Van der Bellen, and Chancellor Kurz. They discussed cooperation between the two nations and oversaw the signing of a slew of bilateral documents. Putin also attended a meeting of the Russian-Austrian business Council dedicated to the 50th anniversary of gas cooperation between the two states.

In August 2018, Putin made a brief stop in the Austrian city of Graz on his way to Berlin. The president attended the wedding of Austria's Foreign Minister Karin Kneissl and spoke with Kurz.

Foreign policy departments of the two countries are actively involved in the dialogue. In April 2018, Kneissl came to Moscow on her first visit as Austrian foreign minister.

On June 5, 2018, Russian and Austrian foreign ministers met in Vienna to discuss a range of issues, including Syria, Iran and North Korea.

On June 25, 2018, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko discussed with Austrian Foreign Ministry's Secretary General for Foreign Affairs Johannes Peterlik prospects for deeper relations between Russia and the European Union, during his trip to Vienna.

Austria is among the opponents of increasing sanctions pressure on Russia, a position shared by the country's main political parties, public figures and the vast majority of businesses.

At the end of 2017, the Russian-Austrian trade turnover increased by 40.5 percent compared with the previous year to $4.1 billion. At the same time, Russia's exports to Austria increased by 78.9 percent to $1.9 billion, and imports from Austria showed an increase of 18.5 percent to $2.2 billion. Investment cooperation between the two countries is also growing.

Trade between Russia and Austria amounted to $3.39 billion from January to July 2018. Russian exports amounted to $1.92 billion, while imports totaled $1.47 billion.

Russia exports to Austria mineral products (91.7 percent); metals (2.41 percent); wood (2.34 percent); chemical industry products (1.33 percent); machinery, equipment and transport vehicles (1.07 percent); food and agricultural products (0.46 percent).

Russia imports from Austria mostly machinery, equipment and transport vehicles (45.45 percent); chemical industry products (22.32 percent); metals and metal products (15.32 percent); food and agricultural products (6.65 percent); wood, pulp and paper products (4.74 percent); textiles and footwear (1.44 percent).

Russian investments in the Austrian economy reached $23 billion in2018, while Austrian investments in the Russian economy stood at $5 billion.

The Declaration on Partnership for Modernization, adopted in 2011, has already given rise to 28 joint initiatives worth nearly three billion Euros ($3.455 billion).

More than 1,200 Austrian companies operate in the Russian market, and there are about 500 companies with Austrian capital.

Austrian companies mainly invest in the construction and modernization of factories in Russia producing chipboard, as well as pulp and paper plants, metallurgic factories, mineral oil refineries, wood processing factories and those producing construction materials. The main targets of Russian investment in Austria are manufacturing, mining operations, electricity generation, finance and tourism.

The Mixed Russian-Austrian Commission for Trade and Economic Cooperation deals with bilateral trade and economy. It last met in St. Petersburg on May 24, 2018. A Russian-Austrian Business Council was established in 2017 and last met in June 2018.

The countries' law enforcement agencies have been cooperating within the framework of Justice Ministries and the General Prosecutor's Offices.

Russian-Austrian relations have been traditionally close in the cultural sphere. The countries have been working together on several cultural and art programs under the 1998 intergovernmental deal on cultural cooperation. Fruitful contacts are maintained between theaters and music groups, museums, libraries and universities. Direct links between cities and regions are strengthening.

Tourism in both directions has increased and the geographical scope of touristic visits has expanded since 2017 when Russia and Austria held a year of cross-tourism in 2017. The Russian statistics bureau, Rosstat, estimates 248,000 Russian tourists went to Austria in 2017, while Russia was visited by 52,000 Austrian tourists.

A Cross-Year of Music and Cultural Routes was launched in 2018. Russia and Austria are also working on new large-scale cultural projects, such as the Russian-Austrian Year of Youth Exchanges in 2019 and the Year of Literature and Theater 2020.