Liebe Österreicherinnen und Österreicher in Georgien!

ძვირფასო ავსტრიის მეგობრებო საქართველოდან,

Dear friends of Austria,

2020 is an important year for Austria. We are celebrating 65 years of Austrian UN membership, 60 years of Austrian participation in peacekeeping operations, 40 years of Vienna as a seat of the United Nations and 25 years of EU membership –to name just a few.

Above all, 26 October 1955 is one of the most important dates in recent Austrian history: Austria regained its full sovereignty.

Austria remained an occupied country after World War II. The looming Cold War did not promise full sovereignty any time soon. The country was devastated after the war. But our parents and grandparents took their fates into their own hands. With the support of our friends and allies, they rebuilt our country from the ashes of war. Seizing the opportunity of changing geopolitical winds in the mid of the 1950s, the State Treaty was signed in May 1955. The last foreign soldier left Austria on 25 October 1955. The following day, Austria – with its newly established full sovereignty – declared its permanent neutrality.

65 years later, we pay tribute to our parents and grandparents for their perseverance, which formed the basis for today´s prosperity, built on democracy, respect for human and fundamental rights, an open minded society, economic growth, innovative companies and an ambitious ecological agenda.

The anniversaries mentioned above show a clear Austrian principle that has remained unchanged for decades: our commitment to effective multilateralism. We are much stronger, when we are united. We actively seek to cooperate with our friends and partners – Georgia holding a special place, with, inter alia, strong human bonds, growing business partnerships, collaboration between agencies and institutions, student exchanges, close cooperation in key areas such as sustainable tourism, agriculture and local development, forestry and ecology as a glue for our relations.

I would have loved to celebrate this with you in person. However, we are living in difficult times of a global pandemic. We have seen so much suffering. But we have also seen excellent cooperation in our respective repatriation efforts und mutual support in overcoming the COVID crisis. Austria – as a proud member of the European Union – is particularly pleased that the European institutions and EU Member States joined up forces within the “Team Europe” initiative to support Georgia in its endeavours. I am confident that such spirit of unity and cooperation will prevail over nationalism, war and division which we are unfortunately experiencing in our neighbourhood these days.

Physical contacts should be restricted as much as possible these days. For this reason, we decided to cancel our traditional National Day reception in accordance with applicable health protocols.

However, we did not want to leave you alone in this challenging time. Please find here a small piece of greetings from Austria to our friends! Enjoy and share, if you like it!

In addition, we have created a small quiz about Austrian-Georgian relations (in Georgian). Although only students up to the age of 18 years are allowed to compete for prizes, I invite all of you to take a few minutes to work through the quiz yourselves. Be assured that you will learn some surprising facts about our relations! Check out www.austriageorgia.ge.

Zum Schluss noch ein kurzer Gruß an alle Österreicherinnen und Österreicher in Georgien!

Ich wünsche Ihnen trotz Corona und auch ohne den traditionellen Empfang einen schönen Nationalfeiertag! Ich hoffe, wir können im nächsten Jahr dann gemeinsam darauf zurückblicken, dass wir die Corona-Krise mit vereinten Kräften gut gemeistert haben. Vielen Dank für Ihren wertvollen Beitrag für die Weiterentwicklung der österreichisch-georgischen Beziehungen und Freundschaft!

I am looking forward to celebrating again together in 2021!

მინდა, ვუსურვო ჩვენს ქვეყნებს წარმატება! დაე, ჩვენი მეგობრობა კიდევ უფრო გაძლიერდეს!

All the best and please stay well!

Thomas Mühlmann