SOCIETY 378

Saudi Arabia: vibrant,
thriving and ambitious
SOCIETY spoke with HRH Abdullah Bin Khaled
B.S. Al Saud, the Ambassador of Saudi Arabia in
Austria about the relationship between the two
countries and “Vision 2030”.
Saudi Arabia’s and Austria’s foreign
relations date back to 1880 – what are
the key areas of exchange and collaboration
between the two countries?
Indeed, we are proud of the continuity
of bilateral ties between two historic
and ambitious nations. As you note,
relations between Saudi Arabia and
Austria date back to the youth of King
Abdulaziz Al Saud, founder of the
Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Traditionally,
our ties have had two key dimensions:
political and economic. On the
political side, the Kingdom has always
cultivated respect and admiration for
Austrian foreign policy and the important
function served by Vienna as
neutral territory. Austria plays an important
peacemaking role and we value
its contributions to creating stable
and secure conditions in the Middle
East, especially as the Kingdom will
further enhance its role as a crossroads
of Europe, Asia and Africa as a
part of Vision 2030, under the guidance
of HRH Custodian of the Two Holy
Mosques King Salman Bin Abdulaziz
Al Saud and HRH Crown Prince Mohamed
bin Salman. On the economic
side, Saudi Arabia has relied on the
ingenuity of Austrian firms to service
our various industries, including water
transport and desalination, transport,
railway technology, infrastructure,
environmental technology, medical
technology, hospital equipment and
Fotos: SOCIETY/Pobaschnig
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