The Foreign Minister of Andorra (Pyrenees), Maria Ubach, met with her counterpart, Austria’s Minister for Europe, Integration and Foreign Affairs, Karin Kneissl, to discuss various issues in the bilateral field, such as the negotiations for an agreement to avoid double taxation between both countries that would allow investment to be boosted, as well as strengthening cooperation in tourism and education.
Ubach updated Kneissl on the status and scheduled agenda with regard to the negotiations for the Association Agreement with the European Union. Maria Ubach’s official visit to Austria coincides with the presidency of the European Council for the second half of 2018 held by Austria.
Ubach met with the heads of the United Nations and the OSCE.
During her trip to Vienna, the foreign minister was able to meet with the executive director of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and the Director-General of the United Nations Office at Vienna (UNUV), Yury Fedotov, with which she shared the progress made by the Principality in matters of crime prevention and criminal justice, as well as policies to strengthen the rule of law through legal security and the fight against corruption. Maria Ubach gave information to the representative of the United Nations about Andorra’s commitment to implement the objectives for sustainable development.
Ubach also met with the Secretary General of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), Thomas Greminger, who explained the strategic policies of Andorra, both nationally and in multilateral participation. Specifically, they referred to education as well as the promotion of equality and environmental issues. In this context, she reported the voluntary contributions Andorra has made to the OSCE for the year 2018 to combat climate change, empower women through education and combat trafficking women, human beings on migration routes.
At the various meetings held, Maria Ubach reaffirmed the importance of effective multilateralism and the principle of shared responsibility on the part of all states in tackling global challenges that have a local impact and therefore require global solutions and transversal. As the foreign minister has pointed out, the national voluntary report for the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development presented by Andorra within the framework of the United Nations is a clear commitment made by Andorra to achieve these goals.
In the same way, during her stay in Vienna, Maria Ubach met with part of the OSCE participating states to examine possible joint actions to boost effective multilateralism.
Last night, the minister presented the conference “Andorra’s challenges and international opportunities” at the Diplomatic School of Vienna. Ubach highlighted the reforms that have been carried out by the Executive during the last years regarding the opening process and internal reforms for tax approval, as well as foreign policy and more specifically the relations with the European Union and Andorra’s application to host the Ibero-American Summit in 2020.
