Austrian Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg was set to visit Türkiye late Monday for a two-day visit. He will meet his Turkish counterpart Hakan Fidan on Tuesday. The two diplomats, who last met in New York last January, will discuss bilateral relations, Türkiye’s relations with the European Union, as well as the situation in Gaza where Palestinians are subject to Israel’s massacre.
Turkish diplomatic sources said the sides would discuss multilateral relations and encourage stability in political affairs. Fidan and Schallenberg are also expected to discuss economic ties, security cooperation, the fight against terrorism and irregular migration, as well as problems the Turkish diaspora in Austria faces and rising Islamophobia in Europe.
Sources stated that the Turkish side would emphasize steps needed to stop the massacre in Gaza and call for recognition of a Palestinian state.
Schallenberg is also expected to meet Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya.
Türkiye and Austria mark the centenary of a “Friendship Agreement” and the 60th anniversary of an agreement over the workforce. Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer was the first sitting chancellor to visit Türkiye in 22 years when he met President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in October 2023.
Austria’s investments in Türkiye rose to $10.9 billion between 2005 and 2024. Türkiye hosts about 1,000 companies with Austrian ownership or partners. Austria, for its part, hosts some 350,000 people of Turkish descent who run over 12,000 businesses in the European country.
Relations between the two countries were strained during the tenure of Chancellor Sebastian Kurz, who pursued a hostile policy toward Türkiye as part of his right-wing agenda.
Kurz decided to end his active political career at the end of 2021 due to a corruption investigation against him and the change in power had a positive impact on Türkish-Austrian relations.
