FEDERAL PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF AUSTRIA, ALEXANDER VAN DER BELLEN, IS ON A STATE VISIT TO MONGOLIA
At the invitation of the President of Mongolia, Ukhnaagiin Khurelsukh, the Federal President of the Republic of Austria, Alexander Van der Bellen, together with First lady Doris Schmidauer, is paying a state visit to Mongolia from May 25 to 28, 2025.
On May 25, 2025, President Alexander Van der Bellen, First lady Doris Schmidauer, and the accompanying official delegation were welcomed at “Chinggis Khaan” International Airport by Mongolia’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Battsetseg Batmunkh, the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Austria to Mongolia, Andreas Riecken, and other officials.
It is worth noting that this is the first state visit to Mongolia by a Federal President of the Republic of Austria.
On May 26, President Alexander Van der Bellen and First lady Doris Schmidauer were officially welcomed at the Sukhbaatar Square by the President of Mongolia, Ukhnaagiin Khurelsukh, and his wife, First lady Luvsandorjiin Bolortsetseg.
After the official welcome ceremony, the heads of state held a one-on-one meeting followed by official talks.
The two leaders reaffirmed the achievements of the traditionally friendly relations based on shared values such as democracy, human rights, and the rule of law. They expressed satisfaction with the growing cooperation in politics, economy, trade, investment, education, science, and social protection. Both agreed to further strengthen collaboration in infrastructure, social and human development, healthcare, water, waste management, agriculture, and environmental protection.
In this context, the Presidents discussed expanding cooperation in sustainable forestry based on Austria’s forest management practices, planting climate-resilient trees, protecting water resources, combating deforestation and desertification. They also agreed to conduct joint research in the fields of mining, mineral processing, energy, and digital transformation, to introduce know-how and technologies, and to promote cooperation in tourism, particularly mountain and winter tourism, as well as developing tourism zones, products, and services, whilst organizing educational and training programs and exchanging experiences.
Furthermore, both sides confirmed their intention to jointly implement initiatives proposed at the international and regional levels, and to contribute to global efforts to address urgent challenges such as climate change, desertification, and the loss of biodiversity.
Additionally, during the visit, the two parties signed a number of important foundational documents aimed at expanding and developing bilateral relations and cooperation across various sectors as follows:
- The Joint Declaration of Mongolia and the Republic of Austria
- An Agreement on Social Protection between Mongolia and the Republic of Austria
- An Agreement on Visa Exemption for Diplomatic Passport Holders between the Government of Mongolia and the Government of the Republic of Austria
- An Agreement on the Repatriation of Illegally Residing Citizens between the Government of Mongolia and the Government of the Republic of Austria
- A Letter of Intent on Financial Cooperation between the Ministry of Finance of Mongolia and the Ministry of Finance of the Republic of Austria
- A Memorandum of Understanding on Cooperation in Exchanging New Technology and Best Practices in Mining between the Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources of Mongolia and the Ministry of Finance of the Republic of Austria
- An Agreement on Cooperation in Science between the Mongolian Academy of Sciences and the Austrian Academy of Sciences
- A Protocol on the Implementation of an Agreement on Cooperation in Science between the Mongolian Academy of Sciences and the Austrian Academy of Sciences for 2025-203
- A Memorandum of Understanding on Cooperation between the Mongolian State Conservatory and the University of Music and Performing Arts in Vienna
- A Memorandum of Understanding between the Chinggis Khaan National Museum of Mongolia and the Institute of Iranian Studies of the Austrian Academy of Sciences