Austria committed to support Vision 2030 strategy

Austrian Ambassador Gregor W. Koessler speaks at the ILF Tecon function in Riyadh. (AN photo)

RIYADH: Austria is committed to support the transformation strategy that has been established by Saudi Vision 2030, said Austrian Ambassador Gregor W. Koessler.
Speaking at a function organized by ILF Tecon to mark its 50th anniversary as a company, the Austrian ambassador said, “Allow me to emphasize that ILF Saudi Arabia has made a huge contribution over the last 40 years in the Kingdom. We as Austrians are very proud of that as the headquarters of ILF group is seated in Austria.”
He added: “We work together with the institutions of the Kingdom on implementing Vision 2030, but of course we were here even before, trying to foster the development of the Kingdom with the transfer of know-how in the spirit of partnership.
“What ILF has been doing especially in the water management sector, desalination and more recently with their entry into the fields of oil and gas as well as environmental protection is highly important and does reflect the high quality of Austrian engineering and technical expertise.”
ILF is an engineering consulting company that implements complex projects in international plant engineering.
Koessler said Austria hosted the Saudi-Austrian Joint Economic Committee meeting in December, and met with Salim Al-Gudhea, Saudi deputy minister of economy and planning, to discuss how to work together in implementing the Vision 2030 in the areas where Austria has specific expertise. He said infrastructure, green technology, health and housing are the areas of focus.
“Of course, ILF Tecon has specific expertise in many of these areas, but as an Austrian ambassador, I support cooperation for all Austrian companies and institutions across the board,” he said.
Klaus Lasser, ILF CEO, said his company has 2,000 employees at more than 40 office locations across five continents. The ILF Group have a strong regional presence that makes it possible to interact with clients and project parties on site.
Karl Tobler, managing director ILF Tecon, said, “We encourage young Saudi engineers to join us. We offer training programs to develop skills. We first train them in the office giving an overview about the company and basic training then send them to our project sites in cities including Riyadh, Yanbu, Dahran, Jeddah and Makkah.”