Chancellor Sebastian Kurz of Austria will make an official visit to Korea February 14-15.
Austria and Korea established diplomatic ties in 1892 and have a history of longstanding exchanges over a period of more than 120 years. The upcoming visit by Chancellor Kurz will mark the first visit to Korea by an Austrian chancellor in 19 years. It will have added significance in that his visit to Korea will be the first arranged on a bilateral level.
On February 14, President Moon Jae-in and Chancellor Kurz will hold a summit, during which they are expected to exchange ideas about how to promote mutually beneficial, forward-looking cooperation between Korea and Austria. Austria is a small and medium-sized enterprise powerhouse and a leading nation in science and technology.
On top of this, the summit will serve as an opportunity to reaffirm the endorsement of the inter-Korean peace process by Austria, where both the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) are headquartered. The two leaders will also have an in-depth discussion concerning the future of Europe.
Chancellor Kurz, 33, the world’s youngest prime minister, has been on Time’s top ten list of Next Generation Leaders for the past two years in a row. His visit to Korea this time is expected to solidify traditional, friendly and cooperative relations between the two countries and to serve as an opportunity to expand substantive collaboration in such areas as e-government, science and technology