Austrian Foreign Minister Schallenberg Meets Secretary-General Guterres and other Top Officials of the United Nations
The Secretary-General of the United Nations, Antonio Guterres, is currently visiting Vienna for the Chief Executives Board of Coordination of the United Nations. Along with meeting Austrian Chancellor Nehammer, Guterres also met Austria’s Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg.
Antonio Guterres (m.) with Alexander Schallenberg (r.) and Karl Nehammer (l.). / Picture: © Bundeskanzleramt (BKA) / Dragan Tatic
Secretary-General of the United Nations Antonio Guterres is currently in Vienna for the Chief Executives Board of Coordination (CEB), the highest coordination body of the United Nations (UN).
The CEB brings together the leadership of the United Nations twice a year. This year's spring meeting will be held in Vienna on May 12-13, 2022. The CEB will kick off informally with a reception at the Belvedere on May 11. 2022, where the representatives of the CEB will meet physically for the first time since 2019. After 2010 and 2016 it is the third time that the CEB meets in Vienna.
As reported by Vindobona.org, the Secretary-General met with Austrian President Alexander Van der Bellen yesterday May 11, 2022.
Later that day, Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer and Austrian Foreign Minister Alexander met with Secretary-General Guterres. As reported by Vindobona.org, together with Chancellor Karl Nehammer, they exchanged views on global challenges for multilateralism at the Federal Chancellery. The focus was on the global impact of the Russian war of aggression on Ukraine.
Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg assured Secretary-General António Guterres that Austria would remain a reliable partner of the United Nations, especially in times of crisis. In this spirit, the Foreign Minister announced that Austria, as the host state of the United Nations, will bear the costs of around 30 million euros for urgently needed renovations at the Vienna International Centre.
According to the Foreign Ministry of Austria, due to the detour profitability, the Headquarters Austria brings economic benefits to Austria. After all, the presence of the more than 50 international organizations in Austria, about one-third of which are part of the UN family, secures about 19,000 jobs with a gross value-added effect of about 1.35 billion euros, according to a study by the IHS. The employees of the Vienna-based international organizations pay 527 million euros in taxes and duties each year.
As reported by Vindobona.org, Austria professes to be a mediator and wants to strengthen Vienna as a hub for diplomacy.
Therefore Austria’s Foreign Minister Schallenberg also took the opportunity to meet other top UN diplomats for talks.
At the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg received the Assistant Secretary-General for Strategic Coordination, Volker Türk, who, as the highest-ranking Austrian at the UN, reports directly to the UN Secretary-General.
Furthermore, Foreign Minister Schallenberg exchanged views with the Commissioner-General of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, Philippe Lazzarini, on the impact of the Russian war of aggression on the region.
Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg discussed the human rights situation in Ukraine with the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet. A central topic during these talks was the opening of the office of the UN Human Rights Council's Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine this May in Vienna. Thus Austria as an official seat supports the investigation of human rights violations and violations of international humanitarian law in the context of the Russian war of aggression.
BMEIA Federal Ministry for Europe Integration and Foreign Affairs