Following high-level meetings between a delegation led by the Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Abubakar Bagudu, and senior Austrian government officials, Nigeria and Austria have committed to strengthening their bilateral economic relations.

“With President Bola Tinubu’s bold reforms opening up the Nigerian economy for foreign and domestic investments, we are committed to long-term, strategic partnerships that create jobs, generate income, and promote prosperity,” Bagudu told Austria’s Vice Minister of Finance, Mag. Andreas Reichhardt, during one of the meetings in Vienna, Austria.

The delegation engaged with senior Austrian officials, including the Federal Minister for Agriculture, Forestry, Regions and Water Management of the Republic of Austria, Mag. Norbert Totschnig, the State Secretary for the Federal Ministry of Economy, Energy and Tourism, Ms Elisabeth Zehetner, and the Federal Minister for Innovation, Mobility and Infrastructure, Mr Peter Hanke.

Others were the Director General of the International Centre for Migration Policy Development, Dr Michael Spindelegger, who was formerly minister for Foreign Affairs and Finance, as well as the Vice Chancellor, and the CEO of the Vienna Stock Exchange, Mr Christoph Boschan.

The engagements with Austrian officials and business leaders in Vienna on Friday, as stated by the ministry’s Director of Information and Public Relations, Mrs Julie Okogie-Jacobs, yesterday, centred on establishing new partnerships in capital market development, investment, innovation and mobility, migration governance, agriculture and water management, and economic reform support.

She stated that some Austrian companies delivered presentations proposing a technology transfer and a local manufacturing partnership that would enable Nigeria to produce water filtration materials domestically, expand the textile industry value chain to create skilled jobs, and improve water and food security through local capacity-building and training.