Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan will pay a two-day official visit to Austria starting on Wednesday.
His visit will kick off with a meeting with Austrian Minister for European and International Affairs Beate Meinl-Reisinger. He is also expected to be received by Austrian Chancellor Christian Stocker and hold talks with Feridun Sinirlioğlu, a veteran Turkish diplomat who now serves as secretary-general of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE). He will also address a conference at the Diplomatic Academy of Vienna and is scheduled to attend a meeting with the representatives of Turkish civic society organizations in Austria.
Foreign Ministry sources said Fidan’s talks will touch upon a broad range of issues, from bilateral ties to current affairs. His talks with the Austrian officials will concentrate on exploring the opportunities to deepen fields of cooperation, diversification of commercial and economic relations, increasing the trade volume and discussing potential for promoting mutual investments. Sources said Fidan would also highlight cooperation potential in strategic fields, particularly energy, digitalization, connectivity and the defense industry. In addition, the minister will emphasize that Türkiye attaches importance to the well-being, prosperity and social harmony of the Turkish community in Austria.
On relations with the EU, sources said Fidan would express Türkiye’s commitment to full membership in the bloc as part of the vision laid out by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. He will also underline that it was of interest to all parties to approach Türkiye-EU relations through a strategic vision rather than narrow-minded political calculations and the need for a more comprehensive and institutionalized cooperation to overcome the current challenges in relations.
On the Russia-Ukraine conflict, Fidan will voice Türkiye’s commitment to efforts to end the conflict with a fair and sustainable peace and persuade the sides to return to negotiations to achieve this goal, according to the Foreign Ministry sources.
Other issues that Türkiye’s top diplomat will discuss with Austrian officials include the U.S.-Israel-Iran war, the situation in the Strait of Hormuz and the situation in Gaza. Fidan will express Türkiye’s commitment to efforts to end the conflict permanently and highlight the necessity of a return to the status quo in the Strait of Hormuz and ensuring unhindered passage. On Gaza, sources said Fidan would stress Israel’s violations of the cease-fire and its steps to derail the peace plan. He will also point out how the Netanyahu administration encouraged illegal settler terrorism and expanded the occupation of the Palestinian territories systemically. According to the diplomatic sources, Fidan would also highlight that Israel’s policies of occupation and destruction threatened peace and stability in the entire region.
Türkiye and Austria, which fought several wars during the Ottoman era, fought together in World War I, and after the fall of the empire, established good ties. Austria’s Meinl-Reisinger last met Fidan during the Antalya Diplomacy Forum earlier this month.
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.
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.
