Austrian ambassador hopes to deepen Malaysia-Austria friendships
By Rosmalis Anuar
KUALA LUMPUR, June 14 (Bernama) -- As the Austrian Embassy celebrates its 50th anniversary of establishment in Malaysia this year, Ambassador Andreas Launer hopes that the friendship between both countries can be further elevated during his term here.
The diplomat, who is also the Head of Austrian Mission to Brunei since 2021, noted that Malaysia-Austria relations have developed well since the establishment of bilateral relations in 1962 notably on the economic front.
He said both countries have also worked together multilaterally, for instance, in the area of international security politics.
"I think that there is a lot of opportunity to grow together and also to expand together, also in the region of Southeast Asia with the help of Malaysian knowhow," he told Bernama when met at the Southeast Asia Regional Centre for Counter-Terrorism (SEARCCT) International Conference (S.I.C. 2023) here, Tuesday.
Launer said Austria welcomes new investments from Malaysian companies particularly in the innovative sectors such as green technology and renewable energy.
Noting that both countries have built technological partnerships in those sectors, however, he said there are very few Malaysian investments in the country.
“Just a couple of months back, I've invited the CEO of the Vienna business agency to come here to talk to Malaysian business circles about the opportunities to make business and to invest in Austria,” he said.
On the S.I.C 2023, Launer stressed the importance of multilateral cooperation in combating violent extremism in the digital realm as it continues to be a serious threat around the world.
“For my government, this is, of course, an important political priority. In Austria and all over the European Union we tried to fight together through cooperation, to fight all forms of extremism and to keep dangers away from our democracies,” he said.
Themed “Building Digital Resilience in Preventing and Countering Violent Extremism,” the three-day conference that started Tuesday, was held to commemorate the 20th anniversary of SEARCCT.
It was aimed at discussing the challenges and issues related to violent extremism, particularly in the digital space, as well as ways to better respond to these challenges in the context of building society’s digital resilience through exchange of ideas, experiences and best practices.
-- BERNAMA
