Vienna's International Organizations, Missions & Institutes

Read the latest headlines about diplomatic missions and international organizations in Vienna and Austria

Meet the New Ambassador of the Kingdom of Sweden to Austria

The new Ambassador of Sweden to Austria, H.E. Ms. Annika Markovic, presented her credentials to Austrian President Alexander Van der Bellen. Ambassador Markovic is also the Ambassador of Sweden to Slovakia and the Permanent Representative of Sweden to the International Organizations in Vienna. Learn more about her.

September 16, 2021

Austrian Development Agency: An Additional 2 Million Euros for Afghanistan

At the United Nations donor conference for the humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan, the Austrian Minister for Integration and Women's Affairs Susanne Raab announced that Austria will provide an additional 2 million euros in aid to Afghanistan. The aid is being made available through funds from the Austrian Development Aid Cooperation of the Austrian Austrian Development Agency (ADA) and the Austrian Foreign Ministry. The conference resulted in pledges of nearly double the amount of money that the UN had set as its goal.

September 16, 2021

Security and Stability: Austria Deepens Cooperation with UAE, Saudi Arabia and Oman

Foreign Minister Schallenberg visited the UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Oman on a four-day trip to the Gulf region. While there, he spoke with various officials, including his counterparts: UAE Foreign Minister Abdullah bin Zayed bin Sultan Al-Nahyan, Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al-Saud, and Omani Foreign Minister Sayyid Badr Albusaidi. The main topics of discussion were security, especially regarding extremism, and economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.

September 15, 2021

Ambassador of New Zealand Presents Credentials to International Organizations in Vienna

Mr. Brian Hewson, the Ambassador of New Zealand to Austria, presented his credentials to the international organizations in Vienna, making him the new Permanent Representative of New Zealand to the International Organizations in Vienna. Read about his background and what New Zealand Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta said about his appointment.

September 14, 2021

ÖBAG: Dr. Christine Catasta Appointed to the Supervisory Boards of Telekom Austria and OMV

ÖBAG CEO Dr. Christine Catasta was appointed to the Supervisory Boards of Telekom Austria (A1) and OMV. With her appointment, both companies have strengthened their women's quota, and OMV has reached parity between the number of male and female capital representatives. Read more about Dr. Catasta.

September 13, 2021

Meet the Ambassador of the Republic of Costa Rica to Austria: H.E. Mr. Alejandro Solano Ortiz

The new Ambassador of the Republic of Peru to Austria, H.E. Mr. Alejandro Solano Ortiz presented Austrian Federal President Alexander Van der Bellen with his letter of accreditation at the Vienna Hofburg. In September 2021 he was named the Chairperson of the Group of 77 (G-77) Vienna Chapter.

November 7, 2018 · Updated: September 13, 2021; 11:00

OSCE: Chairpersonship of the Forum for Security Co-operation Passes to Austria

The OSCE's 57 participating states now routinely delegate the Chairpersonship of the Forum for Security Co-operation (FSC) to Austria.

September 10, 2021

100 Speakers of Parliament Meet in Vienna

Over 100 speakers of parliament met at the Austria Center Vienna for the Fifth World Conference of the Speakers of Parliament. President of the Austrian National Council Wolfgang Sobotka spoke about the international community finding internal solutions to global problems. Duarte Pacheco and Martin Chungong, the President and Secretary-General of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), defended democracy and human rights and spoke about the robustness of parliaments during the COVID-19 crisis.

September 10, 2021

Vienna Economic Forum: Ambassador of Romania Becomes New Member of the Ambassadors Committee

The Romanian Ambassador in Vienna, H.E. Emilian Hurezeanu, was welcomed as a new member of the Ambassador Committee of the Vienna Economic Forum.

September 9, 2021

Aid Package for Afghanistan Approved by Austrian Federal Government

The Austrian Federal Government has officially approved 18 million euros in emergency aid for Afghanistan that it had previously promised. The aid will go from the Austrian Foreign Ministry's Foreign Disaster Fund (AKF) to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), UN Women, and the UN World Food Program.

September 9, 2021

One Million Corona Vaccine Doses for Tehran

Due to the spread of the delta variant, Iran is currently suffering from the fifth and most severe wave of the coronavirus pandemic. To help assist Iran in the fight against the pandemic, Austria is providing the country with one million doses of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine. Austrian Ministers Schallenberg, Nehammer, and Mückstein all expressed their support for the aid package.

September 8, 2021

Think Thank IWM Welcomes 25 New Fellows

Vienna-based Think Thank IWM - Institute for Human Sciences (Institut für die Wissenschaften vom Menschen), whose board of patrons includes among others George Soros, Joschka Fischer, Karel Schwarzenberg and Erhard Busek, welcomes 25 new fellows who will spend the next months at the institute or who will support the institute from afar as non-resident fellows.

September 3, 2021

Number of Anti-Semitism Incidents in Austria Doubled

The Anti-Semitism Reporting Office of the Jewish Community Vienna (IKG) presented its semi-annual report for the first half of 2021. The report showed that the number of incidents had doubled from the same period of the previous year. It attributed the increase mainly to Israel-related anti-Semitism and anti-Semitism surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic.

September 3, 2021

UNHCR Vienna Office: "Everyone has the right to citizenship"

The international community celebrated the 60th anniversary of the adoption of the 1961 UN Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness. On the anniversary, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) stated that "everyone has the right to citizenship." UNHCR also warned about the many dangers stateless people face, including lack of access to COVID-19 vaccines, lack of economic relief from a government, and much more.

September 2, 2021

Ivan Vejvoda Temporarily Succeeds Shalini Randeria as Acting Rector of the IWM

The Vienna based IWM - Institut fuer die Wissenschaften vom Menschen (Institute for Human Sciences) has announced that Permanent Fellow Ivan Vejvoda has been selected to be the Acting Rector of the Institute.

September 2, 2021

Iraq's Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein Calls on Austria to Reopen Embassy in Baghdad

The Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein visited Vienna and the European Forum Alpbach at the invitation of Alexander Schallenberg. The topics of the conversation between the two foreign ministers according to the Embassy of the Republic of Iraq in Vienna.

September 2, 2021

Kazakhstan Commemorates the 30th Anniversary of the Closure of the Semipalatinsk Nuclear Weapons Test Site

The Embassy of Kazakhstan in Vienna is calling for the promotion of its anti-nuclear initiatives and to commemorate the long-term consequences of the legacy of the Semipalatinsk Nuclear Weapons Test Site in eastern Ksakhstan.

September 1, 2021

40 Years After Terror Attack on City Temple in Vienna - Commemoration of Victims and Heroes

On August 29, 1981, the synagogue in Vienna (City Prayer House - Stadttempel) was shaken by a terrorist attack. It was the bloodiest attack on Jewish life in Austria after World War II. Two Palestinian terrorists killed two people in the attack, and 21 were injured, some seriously.

August 31, 2021

Inflation in Austria: Highest Rate in 10 Years

In August 2021, the inflation rate reached 3.1%, the highest value since December 2011.

August 31, 2021

Meet Helene Steinhäusl the Austrian Consul General in New York

The Consul General at the Austrian Consulate General in New York is Ms. Helene Steinhäusl. Steinhäusl has succeeded Helmut Böck, who retired from the foreign service earlier this year. Learn more about Ms. Steinhäusl's career before becoming the Consul General.

August 27, 2021

President of Kazakhstan Receives CTBTO Executive Secretary Robert Floyd

At a press conference organized by the Kazakh Foreign Ministry in Nur-Sultan, the executive secretary of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO), Robert Floyd, said on August 27 on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the closure of the Semipalatinsk test site that the dismantling of the nuclear arsenal inherited by Kazakhstan after the collapse of the Soviet Union has proved to be a visionary, wise and noble decision.

August 27, 2021

The Chamber of Commerce Switzerland-Austria-Liechtenstein Turns 100 Years Old

The Chamber of Commerce Switzerland-Austria-Liechtenstein or Handelskammer Schweiz-Österreich-Liechtenstein (HKSÖL) has supported economic relations between the countries for 100 years. They provide professional assistance to companies in these countries and Central and Eastern Europe. The HKSÖL has facilitated a particularly successful economic relationship between Austria and Switzerland. Read more about what the HKSÖL does and the Austro-Swiss economic relationship.

August 27, 2021

Soros Becomes Key Sponsor of the Forum Alpbach

Forum President Andreas Treichl, former boss of the Erste Group, has succeeded in acquiring US philanthropist George Soros (91), the founder of the Open Society Foundations (OSF), as a sponsor of the European Forum Alpbach, the annual exchange of ideas in the Tyrolean mountains.

August 27, 2021

Austrian Emergency Aid Package of 18 Million Euros for Afghan Women

Austria has announced that it will provide 15 million euros in emergency aid to help the people of Afghanistan. This is in addition to the 3 million euros that Austria already promised to donate to the UNHCR. The total of 18 million euros is intended to benefit, above all, organizations that campaign for the empowerment of women in the region, such as UN Women.

August 26, 2021

Violence Based on Religion or Belief: Vienna Human Rights Envoy Calls for Release of Detainees

On the International Day of Remembrance for Victims of Violence Based on Religion or Belief Vienna’s Human Rights Commissioner called for the release of Iranian Sotoudeh and Egyptian Santawy while reaffirming the need for freedom of thought, conscience, and religion.

August 26, 2021

Van der Bellen Appeals for the Acceptance of Afghans

In his speech at the opening of the European Forum Alpbach (EFA) with Greek President Katerina Sakellaropoulou, Austrian President Alexander Van der Bellen appealed for the acceptance of refugees from Afghanistan. Despite Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz's concerns about accepting refugees, the president argued that there is a legal, moral and political obligation for the EU to offer protection to those forced to leave their country.

August 25, 2021

Central European University: Shalini Randeria Succeeds Michael Ignatieff

Professor Shalini Randeria has been elected to succeed Michael Ignatieff as the sixth rector and president of Central European University (CEU). Professor Randeria is the first woman to hold this position in CEU's history. Read more about Professor Randeria's election, her previous academic and professional experience, and Professor Ignatieff's tenure at CEU.

August 25, 2021

Importance of Economic Relations Between the United States and Austria

The American Chamber of Commerce in Austria (AmCham Austria) presented a new study on the importance of economic relations between the United States and Austria. AmCham also provided a position paper with five key recommendations to the Austrian Minister for Digital and Economic Affairs Dr. Margarete Schramböck and Secretary-General of the Austrian Foreign Ministry Peter Launsky-Tieffenthal. Read about the findings of the study and AmCham's recommendations.

August 23, 2021

Switzerland and Austria Step Up Fight Against Illegal Migration

Swiss Justice and Police Minister Karin Maria Keller-Sutter met Interior Minister Karl Nehammer to discuss the current developments in Afghanistan as well as Switzerland's accession to the migration platform.

August 23, 2021

Schallenberg on Afghanistan: "Particularly close coordination between the EU partners is essential."

Before a virtual meeting of EU foreign ministers, Austrian Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg commented on the escalating events surrounding the Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan. He stressed the necessity for cooperation among the EU member states to help deal with the situation.

August 20, 2021

United Nations to Launch New Cross-Border Anti-Corruption Network in Vienna

The United Nations is launching a new anti-corruption network in Vienna known as the Global Operational Network of Anti-Corruption Law Enforcement Authorities (GlobE Network). Under the auspices of the UNODC, the GlobE Network aims to increase cross-border cooperation in combating corruption.

August 19, 2021

UNIDO Headquarters Vienna: A German Is to Become the Next Director General

Germany's Federal Minister for Economic Cooperation and Development Mr. Gerd Müller has been selected to become the next Director General of the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO). Learn more about Mr. Gerd Müller (Mueller) and read what he and German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said about his nomination.

August 18, 2021

Miss Europe: The Most Beautiful Woman in Europe to be Crowned in Vienna

Some 30 beauties from 21 nations, including three finalists from Austria, are vying for the title of "Miss Europe".

August 17, 2021

Solidarity with Lebanon: Austria Sends 100,000 Vaccines

The COVID-19 pandemic has only worsened the multiple crises Lebanon is already facing, including the massive explosion in Beirut, an economic crisis, and political and social instability. Austria is donating 100,000 COVID-19 vaccines to aid Lebanon in its fight against the coronavirus pandemic.

August 17, 2021

UN Peacekeeping: Praise for Austrian Women and Men

The United Nations thanked Austria for its support in peacekeeping operations and for the service and sacrifice of its military and police personnel deployed around the world under the flag of the United Nations.

August 13, 2021

Mückstein Announces Ten Million Euros for International Projects in Health and Social Sector

Austrian Health Minister Wolfgang Mückstein announced that Austria will provide ten million euros for European and international projects to address the health and social consequences of COVID-19. The projects are particularly targeted at women and girls, refugees and vulnerable groups that have been significantly affected by the health and economic consequences of the pandemic.

August 13, 2021

Rich History of the U.S. Mission to the International Organizations in Vienna

The U.S. Mission to the International Organizations in Vienna has a very rich history. Learn more about it.

July 5, 2021 · Updated: August 12, 2021; 18:00

Sports and Diplomacy: Austria Accedes to the Saint-Denis Convention

Austria has become the 21st country to ratify the Council of Europe Convention on an Integrated Safety, Security and Service Approach at Football Matches and Other Sports Events. Austrian Interior Minister Karl Nehammer explains that this agreement will help to create a safer environment for fans to enjoy sporting events.

August 12, 2021

New Permanent Representative of Chile to the United Nations Office at Vienna Presents her Credentials

The new Permanent Representative of Chile to the United Nations Office at Vienna (UNOV), Ms. Belén Constanza Sapag Muñoz de la Peña, presented her credentials to the Director-General of the UNOV, Ms. Ghada Waly. Learn more about her background.

August 11, 2021

Meet the New Permanent Representative of Slovakia to the United Nations Office at Vienna

The new Permanent Representative of Slovakia to the United Nations Office at Vienna (UNOV), Mr. Radomír Boháč, presented his credentials to the Director-General of the UNOV, Ms. Ghada Waly.

August 10, 2021

New Permanent Representative of Mauritius to the International Organizations in Vienna Presents her Credentials

The new Permanent Representative of Mauritius to the United Nations Office at Vienna (UNOV), Mrs. Usha Dwarka-Canabady, presented her credentials to the Director-General of the UNOV, Ms. Ghada Waly.

August 10, 2021

Permanent Representative of Germany to the International Organizations in Vienna Presents his Credentials

The new Permanent Representative of Germany to the United Nations Office at Vienna (UNOV), Mr. Götz Schmidt-Bremme, presented his credentials to the Director-General of the UNOV, Ms. Ghada Waly.

August 10, 2021

Vienna International Centre - Live-Ticker Coronavirus Situation: Several New Positive COVID-19 Cases, 380 Cases in Total

The Vienna International Centre (VIC, UNO City) and the Vienna International Centre Medical Service are reporting new positive COVID-19 cases. The total number of VIC personnel who have tested positive is 380. Below you can see the latest updates of the four main Vienna-based United Nations organizations (United Nations Office at Vienna/UN Office on Drugs and Crime, the International Atomic Energy Agency, the UN Industrial Development Organization and the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization), as announced by UNIS and provided by the Vienna International Centre Medical Service. Regular updates on the number of cases of are no longer issued

June 25, 2020 · Updated: August 9, 2021; 17:25

Austria and Afghanistan: The Dilemma with Deportations

While the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), human rights organizations and the Afghan ambassador to Austria, H.E. Ms. Manizha Bakhtari, plead for a stop to deportations, Austria continues to adhere to repatriations to Afghanistan. Read more why.

August 6, 2021 · Updated: August 9, 2021; 08:08

Hiroshima and Nagasaki Memorial: Austria Calls for Disarmament

On the 76th anniversary of the dropping of atomic bombs on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz and Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg called for nuclear disarmament. They highlighted the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW), signed earlier this year, as a good starting point.

August 5, 2021

CTBTO Has a New Executive Secretary

Australian scientist Dr. Robert Floyd became the new Executive Secretary of the Preparatory Commission for the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO) after signing an appointment letter at the CTBTO headquarters in Vienna. Learn more about him.

August 5, 2021

Emergency Aid for Tunisia: Austria Delivers 50,000 Vaccines

Tunisia is receiving 50,000 AstraZeneca vaccines for COVID-19 from Austria. This comes as Tunisia is suffering heavily from the pandemic and has requested assistance.

August 3, 2021

High Representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina Farewelled by Austria

The High Representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina, Valentin Inzko, has left his position. Austrian Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg praised him for his many years of service and his support of the Western Balkans in a farewell statement.

August 2, 2021

Pioneering Hydrogen Alliance between the United Arab Emirates and Austria

On the occasion of the visit of the Ruler and Crown Prince of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan to Austria, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Austria agreed on a strategic partnership. The core of the agreement is closer international cooperation in the fields of hydrogen, renewable energy, youth exchange, green technologies, digital economy and research, according to the UAE Embassy in Vienna and Chancellor Kurz.

August 1, 2021

Peace in Hard Times: Global Peace Photo Awards Ceremony

After canceling the event last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Global Peace Photo Awards Ceremony 2020 was recently held in Baden. The Global Peace Photo Awards Ceremony 2021 will be held later this year. These awards honor the images that best capture the theme of peace each year. Read about the ceremony and who won the awards for 2020.

July 30, 2021