Chairman Senate Syed Yousaf Raza Gilani and Federal Minister for Finance of Austria Gunter Mayr on Saturday discussed strengthening economic ties, enhancing trade, investment cooperation, and exploring new avenues for collaboration between the two countries.
The chairman along with a high-level parliamentary delegation on a visit to Austria, said a news release received here.
The Chairman reaffirmed Pakistan’s commitment to further building upon the traditionally strong relations between Pakistan and Austria.
He highlighted that several Austrian companies, including Andritz and Voith in hydropower generation, Toppelmeyr in tourism, Plasser and Theurer in railways, and OMV in oil and gas exploration, have already contributed to Pakistan’s development.
He invited Austrian companies to take advantage of the recent incentives announced by Pakistan for foreign investors, particularly in priority sectors such as mining and minerals, energy, IT, the defense industry, and agriculture.
During the meeting, the Chairman acknowledged Austria’s keen interest in the mining sector and expressed Pakistan’s readiness to explore collaborative opportunities, particularly leveraging Austrian expertise in mining within used mines.
He also emphasized Pakistan’s potential in Alpine tourism and invited Austrian firms to invest in tourism development on a Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) basis.
Gilani highlighted Pakistan’s plans to upgrade its railway infrastructure, an area where Austria has significant expertise.
The IT sector was identified as another promising field where Austrian firms can benefit from Pakistan’s investment-friendly environment and skilled workforce at competitive rates.
The chairman senate encouraged the Austrian Ministry of Finance to consider financial solutions for Austrian companies to establish a presence in the Pakistani market.
He suggested exploring financing options under the EU Gateway Programme to facilitate economic engagement.
He also stressed the importance of holding further focused discussions on enhancing trade and economic cooperation, including the early convening of the next meeting of the Joint Working Group on Trade and Economic Cooperation, which last convened in 2015.
Both sides recognized the importance of reciprocal trade delegations.
It was noted that while a trade-related Austrian delegation had previously visited Pakistan, the planned Pakistani delegation to Austria is still awaited.
The Chairman Senate welcomed Austria’s invitation for Pakistan to participate in an upcoming expo on IT in May and assured that he would engage with Pakistan’s IT Minister to facilitate the delegation’s visit, ensuring Pakistan’s active participation in the event.
The Austrian Finance Minister Gunter Mayr assured Pakistan of Austria’s support in key areas such as climate change, energy, disaster management and waste management.
He proposed the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to institutionalize cooperation in these areas.
The meeting concluded on a positive note, with both sides reaffirming their commitment to deepening economic and financial cooperation and fostering stronger bilateral ties between Pakistan and Austria.
The meeting was also attended by Syed Naveed Qamar, MNA/Chairman National Assembly Standing Committee on Finance & Revenue, and Pakistan’s Ambassador to Austria.