On the occasion of the Austrian National Day, I would like to greet all Austrians living in Saudi Arabia and all friends of Austria in the Kingdom.

A national day is a good occasion to reflect a little on what we are actually celebrating: is it to show how great we think we are or what we think our nation can contribute in the bigger context of our planet.

For a smaller but very successful country like Austria, the answer to this question is very clear: we cannot succeed without being a good neighbor, a reliable partner and without an open mind.

Austria is part of the family of European nations in the European Union, a member and seat country of the UN, a seat country of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE).

Vienna, our capital, hosts OPEC and the OPEC Fund, the new King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz International Center for Intercultural and Inter-religious Dialogue (KAICIID) and many more institutions and cooperation centers. Here in the Kingdom, efforts to enhance regional cooperation such as within the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) with its seat in Riyadh and the Organization of Islamic Countries (OIC) which has its headquarters in Jeddah breathe the same spirit: fostering cooperation in order to overcome challenges that go beyond any single country’s borders.

In this spirit, I want to use this opportunity to encourage further bridge-building and dialogue within and with this region in our common world.

Gregor W. Koessler

Austrian Ambassador to Saudi Arabia, Oman and Yemen