Ambassador of Austria H.E. Marian Wrba held a reception to celebrate his country’s National Day. The event, which took place at the official residence of the ambassador on 26 October, was attended by Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs for Protocol Affairs, Ambassador Nabil Al-Dakhil, the Undersecretary of the Ministry of Defense, Sheikh Dr. Abdullah Mishal Al-Sabah, and a large number of ambassadors and diplomats, in addition to a large crowd of citizens and members of the Austrian community in Kuwait.
In a speech he delivered on the occasion, Ambassador Wrba stressed that relations between his country and Kuwait are built on a close and deep friendship, and added, “we will do our best to work on preserving and strengthening it”.
“This event tonight is a sign of appreciation offered by the Austrian Embassy to its friends and partners, who are essential to the close relations between our two countries and to the spirit of cooperation between Austria and Kuwait in the fields of politics, economy, trade, business, culture and tourism,” said the Austrian envoy. He pointed out that an important evidence of these excellent relations was the recent visit made by Kuwait’s Foreign Minister Sheikh Salem Al-Sabah to Vienna.
“Last June, Sheikh Salem met with his Austrian counterpart, Alexander Schallenberg, and the Speaker of the Austrian Parliament, Wolfgang Sobotka, and the two partners agreed to intensify our cooperation in all fields, and we signed a number of important bilateral agreements that will benefit our relations in many aspects.”
Pointing out that trade and business relations between the two countries were thriving, but there is always room for further growth, the Austrian ambassador said, “Since our meeting last year at my home here, Austria has been happy to receive more than 40,000 Kuwaiti citizens, and I am happy to announce that since September, we have issued a 5-year Schengen visa for all Kuwaiti citizens who travel to Austria.” He stressed that this would make traveling much easier and more convenient for Kuwaiti visitors to Austria.