Ambassador of Austria in Mexico, Eva Hager
What is the historical economic and political relationship that existed between Austria and Mexico?
Despite our geographic distance, the relationship between Mexico and Austria has been friendly and quite close since far back into the 19th century. Already in 1842, diplomatic relations were officially established by a Treaty on Friendship, Navigation and Trade. From 1864 until 1867 Archduke Maximilian, younger brother of Emperor Franz Joseph I, governed Mexico with the support of the French Army. His regency lasted until the final victory of Republican forces under the leadership of Benito Juárez. This episode led to an interruption of diplomatic relations between the two countries, which later were resumed in 1901.
The Mexican protest note against the illegal occupation of Austria by Nazi-Germany, submitted to the League of Nations in 1938, will always be remembered with utmost gratitude in my country. This protest note was the only formal and written protest worldwide. In remembrance of 1938 and the Mexican protest, my Embassy in Mexico is organizing a series of first-class scientific and cultural events in cooperation with outstanding Mexican institutions. These events on “history-crossings” with the aim of highlighting Mexico’s role especially in this epoch will take place from September 2017 to March 2018.
From the 1930s onwards, about 1,500 Austrian families found a safe haven and a promising new start in Mexico, among them: Wolfgang Paalen, the Austrian surrealist painter of wordwide reputation whose legacy is largely kept in Mexican museums; Ruth Deutsch Lechuga, doctor, art-photographer and collector of Mexican Popular Art, in whose honor a “Ruth Deutsch Lechuga Centre for Popular [Indigenous] Art” has been inaugurated recently in Mexico City; the historian and former director of the Chicago Center for Mexican Studies, Dr. Friedrich Katz, author of “the” standard history of the Mexican revolution (“Secret War in Mexico”); as well as Ernst Roemer, a famous music director who made the Palacio de Bellas Artes an internationally renowned musical stage during the 1940ies. In this regard, we will of course also remember great Mexican personalities like Ambassador Isidro Fabela, who drafted and submitted the above mentioned Mexico’s protest note as well as Consul General Gilberto Bosques, who — on behalf of the Mexican government- hosted so many distressed refugees from fascist countries in Marseille and subsequently facilitated their transfer by boat to Mexico.
Since the 20th century, Mexico and Austria are maintaining a close collaboration in multilateral fora and on global issues: we are like-minded and work closely together in the fields of promoting disarmament, especially nuclear disarmament, sustainable South-South-development, or in combatting climate-change.
What is the current economic relationship between the countries? Would you classify the relationship as being mutually beneficial?
Our current economic relationship is simply fantastic. Mexico is, after Australia, the second fastest growing overseas export market of Austria. In 2016, our exports have increased again by 23% and now sum up to almost a billion euros. Mexico is our first market in Latin America and is competing with Canada for the position of Austria’s second top market in the whole Americas. The import volume from Mexico to Austria is also significant and presents half of our export volume. Austrian direct investment in Mexico is booming; its total amount has reached up to approximately 600 Mio US dollars since 2000. There are subsidiaries of about 100 Austrian companies represented in Mexico, two thirds of them in the productive sector. During the last years, several new Austrian production plants were inaugurated in different Mexican regions, whereby well-equipped business parks and regional incentives in favor of foreign investments played a decisive part. In the automotive sector, three new plants producing projectors, air-bags and cables have been inaugurated since 2016. Austrian enterprises have contributed to important development projects, amongst them the 2.8 km long scenic cable car across the copper-canyon in Chihuahua, built by the Austrian global company Doppelmayr. To mention also the Austrian company Andritz Hydro, who supplied the equipment for the second highest dam of its kind in the world, the La Yesca in the Mexican state of Nayarit. The control system of the Mexican airport Benito Juárez is run by the Austrian company Frequentis, which also monitors the control centre of the Mexico-Toluca high-way. A number of Austrian companies are engaged in providing dual education for apprentices: the most famous one is ALPLA in Toluca (a leading company worldwide in the field of resealable plastic packaging systems, especially plastic bottles), which established its own training centre at a cost of around 20 million euros. Young apprentices are being trained in three-year-courses according to Austrian standards to become highly qualified technicians. The certification of trainees is conducted by the Austrian Institute for Economic Promotion (WIFI) and financially supported by the Austrian Development Agency (ADA) as a contribution to education and excellence. The certificate qualifies the apprentices at the highest technical level, and officially admits them to work in national companies in Austria and Germany.
What are the key areas of trade that exist between the countries?
Our export-import business is characterized by the mutual exchange of highly sophisticated goods. Austria’s main imports to Mexico consist of machinery, production facilities, vehicles and accessories, paper, metals und metal products, fire-resistant materials as well as chemical products. Mexico exports mainly machinery, vehicles and accessories, electric appliances, medical and measurement instruments, pharmaceutical products as well as beer, fruits and leather to Austria.
Do you expect the growth in knowledge based industries to substantially change the trade relation?
The growth in knowledge based industries will favor the Austrian presence on the Mexican market. Austria enjoys a high reputation as an icon of classical music, offering wonderful ski-resorts and delicious Viennese sweets and pastries. But apart from that, Austria has a strong nucleus of approximately 300 leading world-class companies, which successfully export innovative, sustainable, green and intelligent technologies to the European and international markets. In 2016, we celebrated the important visit of our Federal Minister of Transport, Technology and Innovation, Mr. Jörg Leichtfried in Mexico. During his visit, three declarations of intent were signed at ministerial level. Furthermore, the Austrian Patent Office and the Mexican Institute of Industrial Property (IMPI) signed a Memorandum of Understanding. Minister Leichtfried was accompanied by 19 companies and a delegation of up to 50 persons. Austrian companies of excellence in the fields of green energy technologies, smart city technologies, waste management, intelligent buildings, access- and control- systems, among others, were invited to present their smart and sustainable “surprisingly ingenious” solutions. Some of them are already on the Mexican market; others are potential new-comers and value their investment opportunities enthusiastically.
Is there expectation that recent events such as Brexit, fluctuations in the Mexican peso, and the possible renegotiation of NAFTA may influence trade relations?
Austria is a proud and assertive member of the European Union. The EU and Mexico will have a modernized Free Trade Agreement ready for signature by the end of this year. As a result, economic opportunities for the Union’s member countries, like Austria, on the Mexican market will further increase. Currency fluctuations are a well-known phenomenon for international companies and they are readily dealing with them. At this moment the Mexican peso shows a tendency towards becoming stronger again, so there are no immediate risks. As to the renegotiation of NAFTA, a momentum of serenity seems to gain lee-way. The maintenance of free trade is of global importance, so we believe that at the end of the day the results will be better than what may have been anticipated from speculative initial announcements. Austrian companies in Mexico produce for the world market and do not limit their sale to only one part of the world.
Is there a public perception of Mexican goods, people or government in Austria? If so, what is the general opinion?
In general, Mexico has the reputation of being an exotically exuberant country, with tropical beaches, ancient monuments hidden in lavish rain-forest vegetation and colorful indigenous communities with gracious customs and amazing creativity. Events in Mexican history such as the Mexican revolution, or artistic expressions present another hype factor for certain groups of the Austrian public. What we as an Embassy intend to do is to point to the potential of modern Mexican industry and to demonstrate the country’s position as a technologically advanced, perfectly matching business-partner.
What is your expectation for the future of Austria-Mexico relations?
In the cultural field, I would like to mention the “House of Music Vienna-Puebla”, the first replica of an Austrian museum (the “House of Music Vienna”) established under a license-contract in the Mexican city of Puebla in 2015. It teaches the history of classical music in Vienna in a cheerfully interactive way. In 2010, Austria also established a bilingual primary- and secondary-school in Querétaro, the “Colegio austriaco mexicano”, which is well-known for offering high quality education at affordable costs (moderate school-fees) in the region of the Bajío. With such institutions in Mexico, the prospects for further expanding and deepening our cultural relations look very bright.
The same applies to our economic and commercial relations. Austrian companies, being among the most innovative in the world, will further ground the Mexican market in the future as they do nowadays. The new European Union — Mexico free trade agreement, part of a global agreement including a political dialogue and human rights, will provide valuable incentives for further consolidating our already strong relations in this field.
The stronger relations become in particular fields, the more vigorously the people-to-people contacts will develop. So I see very promising, mutual beneficial perspectives for our two countries in the future.
