Latin America and the Caribbean

Cooperation between Austria, Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC)

Austria maintains good and friendly relations with the LAC countries. Trade in goods with most LAC countries has flourished over the past years. Austria’s industry has particularly proven its competitiveness in the energy sector. Close cooperation in the fields of science and research has created a strong basis for sustainable relations.

Austria has observer status within the Caribbean regional organizations CARICOM (Caribbean Community) and OECS (the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States). The Diplomatic Academy in Vienna has been training young Caribbean diplomats since 2010. Cooperation with multilateral organizations and bilateral partners supplements Austria’s engagement.

Austria enjoys an excellent reputation as a European cultural nation across the LAC-region. Austrian cultural promotion follows two goals: on the one hand, it hopes to complement the rather traditional image of Austrian culture with a pronounced contemporary element. On the other, it strives to enhance public awareness of Austria’s cultural presence as part of the EU. Austrian schools that employ Austrian teachers following the national curriculum have been established in Guatemala and Querétaro (Mexico).

About thirty-thousand Austrian expatriates – in addition to an even larger group of former Austrian citizens – live in the region and play an important role in Austria’s relations with Latin America and the Caribbean. Renowned expatriate settlements can be found in Brazil, Peru, Argentina, Columbia, Mexico, and Paraguay.

Austria enjoys diplomatic relations with all LAC states. Austria maintains bilateral strategic partnerships with Costa Rica and Uruguay. Austrian Embassies in the region are located in in Brasilia, Buenos Aires, Bogota, Havana, Lima, Mexico City and Santiago de Chile.

EU cooperation with Latin America and the Caribbean (EU-LAC)

Cooperation between the EU, Latin America and the Caribbean, known as the so-called EU-LAC process, has significantly deepened relations between the two regions. Austria’s strong support for this institutionalized partnership dates back to 1999.

Since its foundation in December 2011, CELAC (the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States) has acted as the EU’s point of contact in this bi-regional process. The first EU-CELAC summit took place in 2013 in Santiago de Chile, while the most recent summit was held in Buenos Aires in October 2022.

In 2011, the EU-LAC foundation was established to enhance EU-LAC institutional cooperation. In 2019, the EU-LAC foundation became an international organization based in Hamburg. Austria ratified the founding treaty in June 2020.

The EU maintains the concept of association and economic partnership agreements in order to foster regional integration of the LAC-partner states and to enhance the legal framework for trade relations and investments. Building political stability, welfare, and social cohesion in the LAC-region and the fight against drug trafficking and organized crime are central political concerns. The EU maintains a broad network of contractual relations with the LAC-countries. This network includes the Association agreements with Mexico (2000) and Chile (2002), both of which are in the process of being modernized, a free trade agreement with Columbia, Peru, and Ecuador, as well as an association agreement with six Central American countries (Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Panama). Cuba and the EU signed an Agreement on the Political Dialogue and Cooperation in 2016.