ABU DHABI: UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan received Austrian Chancellor Christian Stocker in Abu Dhabi on Friday for talks focused on the two countries’ Comprehensive Strategic Partnership and the impact of regional developments on security and the economy. The meeting brought together the leaders during Stocker’s working visit to the UAE and centered on expanding cooperation across the economy, development, industry, renewable energy, technology and artificial intelligence, according to the official account of the talks.
The two sides said they were committed to strengthening UAE-Austria ties as the relationship continues to widen across government and commercial channels. They also exchanged views on developments in the Middle East and their implications for regional and international peace and security. The discussions covered the effect of regional tensions on freedom of navigation, energy security and the global economy, placing the bilateral meeting against a wider backdrop of instability affecting trade routes and energy markets.
The Abu Dhabi talks followed a period of broader institutional and economic engagement between the two countries. Austria has described the UAE as its largest economic partner in the Gulf region, while officials on both sides have pointed to a strategic framework signed in 2021 as the basis for expanding cooperation. Austrian official data showed exports to the UAE exceeded 800 million euros in 2024, underscoring the scale of the commercial relationship that has become a central pillar of the partnership.
UAE-Austria energy and industry ties deepen
Stocker’s visit also included meetings tied to the industrial and energy relationship between the two countries. During the trip, he toured the Make it in the Emirates platform and later visited ADNOC headquarters in Abu Dhabi, where he met Dr. Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, the UAE minister of industry and advanced technology and ADNOC’s managing director and group chief executive. Those engagements added a commercial layer to the political meeting and highlighted the role of energy and manufacturing in bilateral ties.
ADNOC said the Austrian visit came after recent transactions involving OMV and XRG were completed to form Borouge International through the combination of Borouge and Borealis and the acquisition of NOVA Chemicals. The company said it has invested $9 billion across Austria’s energy, fuels and chemicals sectors over the past 25 years, supporting around 25,000 jobs. ADNOC also said its current 24.9% holding in OMV is expected to be transferred to XRG, subject to regulatory and corporate approvals.
Regional developments remain in focus
A day after the Abu Dhabi meeting, Stocker issued a public statement condemning Iranian attacks against the UAE and reaffirming Austria’s solidarity with the country and its respect for the UAE’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. He also thanked the UAE for support and protection provided to Austrian citizens under the current circumstances. The statement reinforced the security dimension of the talks and linked the leaders’ discussion of regional developments to a concrete diplomatic position issued after the visit.
The meeting in Abu Dhabi was attended by Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Chairman of the Presidential Court for Special Affairs, Sheikh Mohammed bin Hamad bin Tahnoun Al Nahyan, Adviser to the UAE President, and a number of ministers and officials. Together with Stocker’s separate official and industry engagements in the capital, the talks placed the UAE-Austria relationship firmly on economic cooperation, industrial integration and regional stability. – By Content Syndication Services.