Austrian embassy officially opened

Austria's embassy in Malta, its first permanent representation here since 1797, was officially opened by the Secretary General of the Austrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Johannes Kyrle.

The Austrian mission had been closed after the departure of the Knights of Malta.

The embassy is at Whitehall Mansions, Ta' Xbiex, a building which also houses the British High Commission and the embassies of the Netherlands, Spain and Portugal.

Until the opening of this embassy, the Austrian embassy in Rome was in charge of Malta while Austrian interests were looked after by Honorary Consul General Michael Bianchi, who will continue to support the new embassy.

The Austrian embassy said the last years had brought an intensification of the good bilateral relations between the two countries especially in economic affairs.

"Six Austrian banks have subsidiaries in Malta and the Vienna International Airport is shareholder of the Malta International Airport. Projects in the fields of environment and energy might follow. Due to these increases in co-operation and with regard to Malta's accession to the European Union, the government of Austria decided in 2004 to open an Embassy in Malta."

The Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Cecilia Attard Pirotta, was present for the opening.