Amb. Maria Laose, flanked by her officers, in deep discussions with the Mr. Voves, and right, signs the City of Graz Visitors Book witnessed by the Mayor, Mr. Siegfried Nagl,officers of the Embassy and  representatives of Nigerian community in the province.

H.E. Ms Maria Oyeyinka Laose, Ambassador of Nigeria to Austria met with the Governor of the Styria Province of Austria, His Excellency Franz Voves on Thursday, January 26, 2012 at the Government House in Graz. The meeting was Ambassador Laoses first contact with a Provincial Authority in her official capacity as Ambassador of Nigeria to Austria. During the exchange, the Ambassador and the Governor reviewed the state of the bilateral relations between the two countries and other general issues of international affairs.

During the course of the meeting, the Nigerian Ambassador conveyed her commitment to working closely with the Styria Province to explore areas of cooperation that will further improve trade relations between Nigeria and Austria.

In acknowledging the advantage that the Styria Province has in the areas of Clean Technology, Automotive Industry and Education, with access to the international community, the Ambassador sought the support of the Styria Government in promoting closer cooperation with Nigeria. She urged the Governor to take advantage of President Ebele Goodluck Jonathans reformation agenda with priority in direct foreign investment to create employment for the youths, by encouraging big industries in the Styria Province to establish in Nigeria.

Other topics of mutual interests and various issues were also discussed during the meeting, including possible ways of cooperation in the areas of Economics, Culture, and Education.

While in the province, Ambassador Maria Laose also met with the Mayor of the capital city, Graz, Mr. Siegfried Nagl, whose office is directly in charge of integration, to discuss the welfare of Nigerians in the province. Thanking the Mayor for the hospitality of the city of Graz towards Nigerians, the Ambassador called on him to do more in assisting them in finding jobs in order to ensure that the good records they have kept in the city was maintained. She was particularly happy that in all the offices she visited while in the province, including the office of the Foreign Police, it was all positive reports about Nigerians who were commended by the people in authority as being law-abiding. 

She was therefore encouraged to call on the Mayor to find ways of making it easier for them to renew their resident permits so that they could be fully integrated into the society.

The Ambassador also visited the Chambers of Commerce in Graz where she met with the Vice President, Mr Jürgen Roth, to discuss possible ways of kick-starting the promotion of business opportunities in Nigeria to attract the participation of the industries in Styria.

Accompanying the Ambassador to the meetings were Mr F.O. Adeshida, Mr Steve Agbana, Mr T.Y. Maigari, all officers of the Embassy.