Austrian Chancellor Christian Stocker made his inaugural visit to Türkiye since taking office last year and met with President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan at the Presidential Complex on Monday. The visit comes at a time of flourishing relations between the two countries whose ties deteriorated in the past decade. The last Austrian chancellor to visit Türkiye was Karl Nehammer, who was the first Austrian official in that post to visit Türkiye in 2023, after a 22-year hiatus.
Türkiye and Austria turned their hostilities in the Middle Ages into somewhat steady relations in the 18th century. This evolved into an alliance in World War I, and in 1924, the fledgling Republic of Türkiye signed a friendship agreement with Austria.
Quoted by Austrian media before his trip to Ankara, Stocker stated that the main topics he would discuss with Turkish officials would be the economy and migration. Stocker defined Türkiye as “an important economic partner” and hailed good relations between the two countries. He stated that Austria and Türkiye had more potential, especially in tourism and Austrian investments in Türkiye.
Stocker is accompanied by Peter Hanke, minister for Climate Action, Environment, Energy, Mobility, Innovation and Technology, and Wolfgang Hesoun, vice president of the Austrian Federal Economic Chamber. He will meet Erdoğan for the second time since he took office, after a May 2025 meeting in Albania on the sidelines of the European Political Community summit.
Austrian Foreign Minister Beate Meinl-Reisinger sought to upgrade relations between the two countries as she met her Turkish counterpart Hakan Fidan on the sidelines of the Antalya Diplomacy Forum in Türkiye last April.
Austria and Türkiye’s trade volume exceeded $4.3 billion in 2025, and the countries aim to elevate it to $5 billion in the short run. Foreign direct investment in Türkiye by Austria surpassed $11.2 billion between 2005 and 2025, while the Turkish investments in Austria in the same period were $887 million.
Turkish and Austrian officials will also hold a high-level roundtable meeting on economic ties during Stocker’s visit. Türkiye is among key export markets outside the European Union for Austria.
Austrian officials say that Hanke’s meeting with Turkish Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure Abdülkadir Uraloğlu would focus on cooperation on modernization of transport infrastructure, especially railways.
Austria also has a large Turkish community numbered around 350,000 people, while Türkiye is popular among Austrian tourists. In 2025, more than 563,000 Austrian tourists visited Türkiye.
