National Day of Austria
Message by HE Mr Wilhelm M Donko
Austrian Ambassador to the Kingdom of Thailand
As the Austrian Ambassador to the Kingdom of Thailand, I am grateful for the opportunity to mark my country's National Day 2025. Allow me to briefly explain the background story of this memorable day, which celebrates a significant anniversary this year. In 1955, exactly 70 years ago, Austria regained its independence and full sovereignty after years of war and a ten-year occupation by the victorious powers of World War II. The basis for this was the State Treaty (“Staatsvertrag”) of May 1955, which in turn was based on the declaration of the permanent neutrality of the Republic of Austria, i.e. the willingness to remain neutral in the midst of the Cold War in Europe. On 26 October 1955, the last Soviet occupying soldier withdrew from Austria in accordance with the State Treaty, and on that day the parliament in Vienna passed the country's law on permanent neutrality, which remains enshrined in our constitution to this day. But I would like to emphasise that our neutrality from 1955 is a military one, not a political one; we have always attached great importance to this. Austria already had this position during the Cold War, when we were a militarily neutral country in difficult times in the heart of Europe, but we were never politically neutral. In other words, we have never been politically neutral towards military aggression, not in the past and not today.
The bilateral relations between the Kingdom of Thailand and the Republic of Austria, which were established in 1869, are excellent and essentially free of major problems. We have experienced steady progress over the years. Thailand is traditionally one of Austria’s most important partners in Asia, and we have a long tradition of working closely together, in the fields of business and trade, culture, art, tourism, science, research & development and, of course, politically. And here, we do not only cooperate bilaterally, but in multilateral institutions as well such as the United Nations. It goes without saying that this cooperation is not limited to our two capitals, but also flourishes in various formats between the EU and ASEAN. In particular, I am very glad that an FTA (Free Trade Agreement) is currently being negotiated between Thailand and the EU, and I hope we will be able to conclude it soon, to the mutual benefit of both of us.
On the occasion of our national day on 26 October 2025, I would like to wish Austria and Thailand continued close friendship and positive domestic political and social development, with the aim of a good future of peace, prosperity and happiness for our people.
