INVESTORS IN MSK

CZECHIA and AUSTRIA

A Future as Rich as History

Career diplomat Bettina Kirnbauer has been serving as Austrian Ambassador to the Czech Republic

since 2020. Immediately prior to her current position, she served as Diplomatic Adviser to the

Austrian Federal President Alexander van der Bellen. Holding a doctoral degree in law, she also

had numerous prestigious assignments in the Austrian Foreign Ministry, including Chief of Protocol

2012–2017, where she was responsible for the nuclear talks with Iran leading to the JCPOA, held

in Vienna from 2014–2015.

Austria has long been one of the largest investors in

the Czech Republic. Why is that so—what potential do

you see in the Czech market?

Austrian investment in the Czech Republic amounts

to 330bn Czech crowns, making the Czech Republic

the third-most important investment destination for

Austrians world-wide, creating about 100,000 jobs in

the Czech Republic. In this context, Austria also benefits

from increasing investment by Czech companies.

New opportunities are arising especially with the transition

to a sustainable, green economy and with digitalization.

The European Union, with the Recovery Plan and other

programmes provided for support, and businesses have

been proactively developing new sectors. It is, for example,

very encouraging to see companies from both countries

working together in the field of renewable energy.

Karel Schwarzenberg mentioned in an interview that

Czechs and Austrians are one nation, but they speak

two different languages. How would you assess

the level of relations between the Czech Republic

and Austria?

Relations between both countries are excellent, be it on

political, commercial, cultural or interpersonal levels.

There is very close cooperation between our regions and

municipalities, and the EU’s Interreg program provides

about 2.5bn Czech crowns over a period of seven years

for cross-border projects.

Czechs and Austrians have in common many traditions in

arts, culture and cuisine. Many Austrians have roots in the

Czech lands, and we share a long history which has been

duly reflected by historians from both countries.

I am also impressed how many Czechs speak excellent

German. This is very useful for our companies, which

offer career opportunities for bilingual staff. That is one

of the reasons why ‘Šprechtíme’, the joint campaign with

the German Embassy, the Goethe Institute, the Austria

Institute and other institutions to support learning the

German language, has been in existence for over ten

years.

Could you please tell us anything about the programme

AKTION Czech Republic–Austria?

The ‘AKTION Czech Republic–Austria’ programme has

been operational since 1993 and supports cooperation

in education and research in all scientific fields through

scholarship grants for students and researchers. As

the current programme cycle will end this year,

consultations on the future framework of the programme

are well under way.

I am glad that quite a number of projects involve

universities in the Moravian-Silesian Region. At the last

meeting of the relevant bilateral committee in December

2021 alone, five projects involving the University of

Ostrava or the Technical University of Ostrava were

selected. Their partners in Austria include the University

of Vienna, the University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna,

and the University of Mining Leoben.

Your Excellency, thank you for the interview.

Klíčový zprostředkovatel rakouského exportu

ADVANTAGE AUSTRIA je organizace zahraničního

obchodu Rakouské hospodářské komory. Je mezinárodně

široce organizovaná, se svou sítí více než 100 kanceláří

ve více než 70 zemích je perfektně připravená, aby mohla

poradit a pomoci rakouským podnikům všude na světě.

Pomáhá v oblasti vstupu na trh, investičního poradenství,

informačních zdrojů a vymáhání pohledávek.

Key Facilitator of Austrian Export

ADVANTAGE AUSTRIA is a foreign trade organisation

of the Austrian Chamber of Commerce. It is highly

organised internationally with networks of more than

100 offices in more than seventy countries and is

perfectly prepared to advise and help Austrian companies

all over the world. Advantage Austria assists in market

entry, investment advice, information resources and debt

collection.

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