Annual Report 2008 27. January 2009

Annual Report 2008

A brief report on our activities in 2008 by Christian Lassnig, the Commercial Counsellor

Dear Friends, Members of the Austrian-Israeli Business Community and  Visitors of our Homepage,

The year 2008 was an exceptionally successful year for the Austrian-Israeli relations in trade, business cooperation and tourism. The volume and intensity of bilateral cooperation have never been as impressive as in 2008.

The Commercial Section of the Austrian Embassy, an office run and financed by the Austrian Federal Economic Chamber, has organized a number of delegations and events to foster this development throughout the year. 

In January 2008, an Israeli delegation of incoming tourist operators and journalists participated at the ACTB (Austrian and Central European Travel Business), the Central European specialized tourism fair that is based on the cooperation agreements between the national tourism organizations of the countries Austria, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Slovenia and Slovakia and "Die Donau-Danube Tourist Commission"with their member countries Austria, Germany, Hungary, Romania, Serbia, Croatia and the Republic of Moldova. 

In February the Austrian National Tourist Board, represented in Israel by the Commercial Section of the Austrian Embassy, participated at the IMTM in Tel Aviv, promoting Austria as a destination for Israeli tourists. More than 60.000 Israelis visit Austria every year. 

In cooperation with the Israeli Embassy in Vienna, we organized a seminar about the Israeli telecom industry in Vienna in April 2008, together with a business delegation of more than 20 Israeli companies visiting leading Austrian telecom operators and integrators. 

After the final statistics for 2007 showed a very successful development and – for the first time – Austrian exports to Israel exceeding Euro 200 Million , the Austrian – Israeli Business Community celebrated this success at a reception at the Commercial Counsellor’s residence in Herzliya Pituach on the 25^th of May. 

Austrian booth at RAX 2008, Tel Aviv

At the RAX 08, Israel's International Exhibition for Electrical Engineering, the Commercial Section at the Austrian Embassy organized a group booth with seven Austrian companies participating. 

In November, a delegation of Austrian telecom companies visited Israel for bilateral b2b-meetings at the Gateway Conference in Tel Aviv and attended the Prime Minister’s Conference in Jerusalem.

Dr. Schenz, Vice President of the Austrian Federal Economic Chamber and Mr. Lynn, President of the Federation of Israeli Chambers of Commerce

The highlight of 2008 was the official State Visit of the Federal President of the Republic of Austria to Israel in December. President Fischer was accompanied by more than 100 delegates, including three Federal Ministers, the Governor of the State of Burgenland, representatives of Austria’s Jewish community, science, culture and a business delegation led by the Vice President of the Austrian Federal Economic Chamber, Dr. Richard Schenz. The program of the business delegation included intensive briefings by representatives of several Israeli ministries in Jerusalem, company visits, a reception hosted by the Federation of Israeli Chambers of Commerce in Haifa and an Austrian-Israeli business forum in Tel Aviv.  

Austrian-Israeli Business Forum, Federal President Dr. Fischer, Mr. Uriel Lynn and Mr. Idan Ofer

The New Year will be a tough one, as the last month of 2008 showed the unfolding of the biggest economic crisis the world has seen since the big depression. The whole world is hit by this recession, Austria and Israel being no exception. Shrinking GDP, plummeting consumption and exports as well as layoffs in all sectors of industry have turned all forecasts upside down. Austria’s economy will definitely shrink by more than 1% in 2009, the forecast for Israel, after five years of dynamic growth, is gradually reduced towards zero.  

The whole dimension of the crisis has not yet been revealed, but we will continue and intensify our efforts to foster and deepen the economic relations between Austria and Israel for mutual benefit.

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