Austria–Colombia relations
Encyclopedia
Austria – Colombia relations are foreign relations between Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...

 and Colombia
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...

. Diplomatic relations were established in 1920, but Austrian honorary consulates already existed in Bogotá
Bogotá
Bogotá, Distrito Capital , from 1991 to 2000 called Santa Fé de Bogotá, is the capital, and largest city, of Colombia. It is also designated by the national constitution as the capital of the department of Cundinamarca, even though the city of Bogotá now comprises an independent Capital district...

 and Barranquilla
Barranquilla
Barranquilla is an industrial port city and municipality located in northern Colombia, near the Caribbean Sea. The capital of the Atlántico Department, it is the largest industrial city and port in the Colombian Caribbean region with a population of 1,148,506 as of 2005, which makes it Colombia's...

 since about 1870. Austria has an embassy in Bogotá and five honorary consulates (in Barranquilla, Cali
Calì
Calì, also written in English as Cali, is an Italian surname, widespread mainly in the Ionian side of Sicily.For the surname Calì is assumed the origin of the Greek word kalos , or from its Sanskrit root kali, "time."The surname refers to:...

, Cartagena
Cartagena, Colombia
Cartagena de Indias , is a large Caribbean beach resort city on the northern coast of Colombia in the Caribbean Coast Region and capital of Bolívar Department...

, Medellín
Medellín
Medellín , officially the Municipio de Medellín or Municipality of Medellín, is the second largest city in Colombia. It is in the Aburrá Valley, one of the more northerly of the Andes in South America. It has a population of 2.3 million...

 and San Andrés
San Andrés
San Andrés is the Spanish name of Saint Andrew. San Andrés may refer to:*Argentina**San Andrés, city located in General San Martín Partido, northern zone of Greater Buenos Aires.**San Andrés de Giles, Buenos Aires Province*Bolivia...

). Colombia has an embassy in Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...

.

In February–March 1980, Austrian Ambassador Edgar Selzer was held hostage in the Dominican embassy siege
Dominican embassy siege
The Dominican Embassy siege was the 1980 siege of the embassy of the Dominican Republic by M-19 guerrillas in Bogotá, Colombia. The guerrillas held nearly 60 people, including 14 ambassadors, hostage for 61 days.-The Siege:...

 in Bogotá.

Bilateral agreements

The two countries have one agreements in force from over 25 years ago and one understanding of protocol:
  • Agreement between the Republic of Austria and the Republic of Colombia on the abolition of visa fees, signed in Bogotá, Colombia on October 22, 1974.
  • Understanding the Protocol on political consultations at a high level between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Austria and the Ministry of Foreign Relations of the Republic of Colombia, signed in Vienna, Austria on March 5, 1999.

Economic links

The Austrian Federal Economic Chamber has a marketing office in Bogotá, subordinate to the Austrian Trade Commission in Caracas, Venezuela. In 2003, bilateral trade between Austria and Colombia totaled US$24.44 million.

Cultural ties

The famous botanist and physician Nikolaus Joseph von Jacquin
Nikolaus Joseph von Jacquin
Nikolaus Joseph Freiherr von Jacquin or Baron Nikolaus von Jacquin. was a scientist who studied medicine, chemistry and botany....

 (1727–1817) conducted research trips to the region between 1755 and 1759, which took him to the Atlantic coast of Colombia. Karl Brunner (1887–1960) is considered the founding father of modern urban planning in Bogotá, where he served in the 1930s. Gerardo Reichel-Dolmatoff
Gerardo Reichel-Dolmatoff
Gerardo Reichel-Dolmatoff was an anthropologist, known for his holistic approach and his in-depth fieldwork among tropical rainforest cultures .- Early life :...

 (1912–1994) was one of the founding fathers of cultural anthropology
Cultural anthropology
Cultural anthropology is a branch of anthropology focused on the study of cultural variation among humans, collecting data about the impact of global economic and political processes on local cultural realities. Anthropologists use a variety of methods, including participant observation,...

 and ethnology
Ethnology
Ethnology is the branch of anthropology that compares and analyzes the origins, distribution, technology, religion, language, and social structure of the ethnic, racial, and/or national divisions of humanity.-Scientific discipline:Compared to ethnography, the study of single groups through direct...

 in Colombia. The architect Fritz Blodek (1905–2001) designed more than 150 buildings for housing and industrial use, especially in Medellín
Medellín
Medellín , officially the Municipio de Medellín or Municipality of Medellín, is the second largest city in Colombia. It is in the Aburrá Valley, one of the more northerly of the Andes in South America. It has a population of 2.3 million...

. The bookseller and journalist Hans Ungar (1916–2004) created a Central Library with the axis of the intellectual and cultural life of Bogotá.

External links

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