Austria's Strategic Repositioning of Embassies/Consulates

UNCLAS VIENNA 000558 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PREL AMGT ODIP AU SUBJECT: Austria's Strategic Repositioning of Embassies/Consulates ¶1. Austria will open a new embassy in Baku, Azerbaijan, with construction beginning by the end of 2009, as part of a strategic decision to support Austria's growing energy business and other activities in the Caucasus/Caspian region. Foreign Minister Michael Spindelegger said the new embassy would "noticeably strengthen our presence in the Black Sea region, which has great potential in political and economic terms, as well as from the viewpoint of energy policy." (NOTE: The planned Nabucco gas pipeline, led by Austrian energy company OMV, is competing to secure initial gas volumes from Azerbaijan's Shah Deniz II field). ¶2. While budgeted to receive a slight increase in 2009 and 2010, the Ministry is reorganizing four of its overseas operations in order to reduce administrative costs. Specifically, the MFA will close its embassy in Muscat (Oman) in 2009, but will add staff to the embassy in Abu Dhabi (UAE) to compensate. Likewise, Austrian Consulates General in Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) and Cape Town (South Africa) will close in 2009 and 2010 respectively, with those personnel to be added to the Honorary Consulate in San Paulo and the embassy in Pretoria. Austria's Consulate-General staff in Hamburg will move to Frankfurt in 2010. ¶3. Worldwide, the Austrian MFA operates 81 bilateral embassies, 14 consular offices, and multilateral missions in Brussels (EU),New York (UN),Geneva (UN), Strasbourg (Council of Europe),and Vienna (IAEA and UNIDO). KILNER