Pretoria – President Cyril Ramaphosa has hosted visiting President Alexander van der Bellen of Austria on the Union Buildings in Pretoria.
South Africa and Austria preserve cordial and cooperative bilateral relations which might be rooted in mutual respect, shared values on multilateralism, and rising financial and cultural exchanges.
The State Visit on Friday, 4 July 2025, introduced a possibility to consolidate the long-standing and powerful relationship between South Africa and Austria, notably within the fields of arts and tradition, larger training, renewable vitality, commerce and funding, and waste administration.
Last yr, South Africa exported €617 million value of products to Austria, whereas that nation imported €661 million value of products from SA.
Though geographically distant and differing considerably in measurement and financial construction, the 2 nations have discovered frequent floor in worldwide cooperation, commerce, and sustainable growth.
President Ramaphosa and President Van der Bellen additionally addressed a plenary session of the Business Forum within the afternoon.
“Austria is a valued associate of South Africa,” President Ramaphosa informed reporters after the session.
“This state go to will additional deepen our longstanding cooperation and strengthen the ties between our two peoples.
“From our discussions at present, it’s clear that that is an aspiration that Austria and South Africa share.”
President Ramaphosa stated South Africa and Austria signed two Memoranda of Understanding.
“The first on cooperation in consular affairs and the second on technical vocational training and work-based coaching, which is able to help South Africa’s efforts to provide the talents our financial system wants.”
South Africa is Austria’s largest buying and selling associate on the continent and accounts for nearly a 3rd of Austria’s whole exports to the continent.
More than 1 / 4 of all African imports to Austria are from South Africa.
President Ramaphosa stated: “We have acknowledged the presence of greater than 70 Austrian firms with subsidiaries and businesses in South Africa”.
Ramaphosa stated he mentioned the affect of geopolitical occasions along with his visiting counterpart from Austria.
“We affirmed the significance of multilateralism as we attempt to grasp a world free from battle and battle,” President Ramaphosa stated.
“We share the assumption that the establishments of worldwide governance, and notably the United Nations Security Council, have to be reformed to satisfy the challenges and realities of the world at present.
“We took this chance to debate the theme we now have chosen for South Africa’s G20 Presidency, particularly ‘Solidarity, Equality and Sustainability’.”
The theme envisages a world order wherein each particular person, each neighborhood, and each nation has equal alternative to progress and to thrive.
President Van der Bellen stated: “Our nations take pleasure in sturdy and cordial ties”.
The Austrian delegation comprised distinguished representatives from enterprise, science and artwork, and the media.
“Our goal is straightforward: we wish to put Austria extra firmly on the map in South Africa,” President Van der Bellen stated.
He revealed that 75 Austrian subsidiaries have been working in South Africa and have up to now created 7 000 jobs.
