14 October 2015 - Philippine Ambassador to Austria Maria Zeneida Angara-Collinson paid a courtesy call on several high-ranking officials of the Austrian Federal State of Vorarlberg. Joining her were Vice Consul Juan Carlos C. Borromeo, Honorary Consul Dr. Christian Traweger, and Ms. Carolina A. Constantino.
Ambassador Angara-Collinson briefed Vorarlberg Deputy Governor Mag. Karlheinz Rüddiser and Mag. Harald Sonderegger, President of the Vorarlberg Regional Assembly on the steady growth of the Philippine economy and business opportunities in the Philippines including the Public-Private Partnership program of the government. She proposed possible business ventures with Austrian companies based in Vorarlberg and a business mission to the Philippines in 2016, in time for the 70th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the Philippines and Austria in 2016.
Deputy Governor Mag. Rüddiser warmly welcomed the proposal as a tangible means to strengthen economic ties with the Philippines, noting the considerable economic progress made over the last few years.
During the luncheon he hosted, Mag. Harald Sonderegger introduced the companies based in Vorarlberg and noted that while most were small- and medium-sized companies, they were globally competitive.
After her calls on the officials in Vorarlberg, Ambassador Angara-Collinson and her delegation visited the headquarters of Doppelmayr Seilbahnen GmbH, an international ropeway transportation company based in Vorarlberg. During the visit, Ambassador Angara-Collinson and her delegation were briefed on Doppelmayr’s current projects all over the world; particularly its urban solutions to traffic congestion. Earlier this year, a delegation led by Cebu City Vice-Mayor Edgardo C. Labella visited the company headquarters to look at possible transport solutions from Mactan International Airport to Cebu City.
The official visit to Vorarlberg concluded with a meeting with the Filipino community where consular matters were discussed. Vorarlberg hosts some 1,000 Filipinos who are mostly working in the health sector. Filipino organizations represented included the Eugenio Daberto Memorial Foundation, Inc. (EDABEM), Philippine Austrian Association in Vorarlberg (PAAV), and the Idio-anon in Austria (IDIA). END
