PM Shehbaz arrives in Austria on 2-day visit

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif arrived in Vienna on Sunday for his two-day tour of Austria, according to a statement from the Prime Minister’s Office.

“The prime minister and the Pakistani delegation were warmly welcomed upon arrival at the Vienna International Airport, and a contingent of the Austrian Armed Forces presented a salute,” the statement read.

PM Shehbaz announced his arrival in Vienna in a post on X, calling it a “city of history, culture and global diplomacy”.

“I look forward to my meeting with Chancellor Christian Stocker to further strengthen the bonds of friendship between Pakistan and Austria,” the premier said, adding that their focus would be trade, investment and economic cooperation.

He added that he was keen to meet the leadership of the International Atomic Energy Agency, (IAEA) the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime and the UN Industrial Development Organisation during his visit.

PM Shehbaz said that these engagements aimed to “deepen our cooperation in peaceful nuclear energy, counter-narcotics and crime control, [and] sustainable industrial development and shared progress”.

Earlier in the day, the Foreign Office said the premier was accompanied by Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, Information Minister Attaullah Tarar and one of his aides, Tariq Fatemi.

The government’s official X account shared a video earlier in the day of the premier and his delegation departing for Vienna from PAF Base Lahore.

In its statement, the Foreign Office (FO) noted that the trip marked “the first visit by a Pakistani prime minister to Austria in over three decades, the last having been undertaken by the then-prime minister Nawaz Sharif in 1992”.

PM Shehbaz is undertaking the visit at the invitation of the Austrian chancellor.

The two leaders will hold bilateral meetings at the Federal Chancellery in Vienna and “co-chair a meeting of prominent business leaders aimed at enhancing the volume of investment between the two countries”, the government post said.

“The prime minister’s official visit to Austria will add new dimensions to the bilateral relations between the two countries,” the statement added.

The premier will also attend and address the Pakistan-Austria Business Forum, which will be organised by the Austrian Economic Chamber (WKO).

Additionally, during the two-day visit, PM Shehbaz is also expected to meet IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi.

In September 2025, Grossi acknowledged the country’s steady progress and close cooperation with the agency, observing that Pakis­tan’s nuclear power programme was advancing “at a good pace”.

PM Shehbaz will also address a United Nations event on the theme of ‘Sustainable Development: The Path to Global Peace and Prosperity’.

The visit marks 70 years of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries, the FO noted in its press release.

It added that the two leaders “will take stock of the entire gamut of bilateral relations”.

“Pakistan and Austria enjoy cordial and friendly relations, underpinned by shared values of dialogue, cooperation, an international order based on the principles of the UN Charter, multilateralism, and respect for international law,” FO said.