Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer met with Prime Minister Yair Lapid on Tuesday and the two leaders signed a strategic partnership agreement between the two countries.
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The agreement ranges from issues of security and cyber to health and tourism, a statement from the Prime Minister's Office said.
"I think today we have the chance that we build our relations stronger than they were before," Nehammer said during the signing ceremony in Tel Aviv.
Earlier on Tuesday, Nehammer toured Israel's Holocaust memorial museum Yad Vashem in Jerusalem.
Nehammer was accompanied by Austrian Defense Minister Klaudia Tanner and Interior Minister Gerhard Karner. Russia's war in Ukraine, as well as signing a strategic partnership treaty, was also on the docket, according to a report by Euractiv, which covers developments in the European Union.
"A deal with Israel, a historically close partner of Austria, could cover [Israel's] gas fields in the Mediterranean Sea as Austria is looking for alternate gas suppliers," said the report.
On June 15, Egypt, Israel, and the European Union signed a deal to increase liquified natural-gas sales to EU countries that want to end their dependence on Russian energy supplies.
In a written statement released on Friday, Nehammer stated: "Israel is a particularly important partner and friend of Austria. We, therefore, want to further deepen our close relations at all levels."
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In his statement, Nehammer also said, "After the unimaginable atrocities of the Shoah [Holocaust], Austria bears a special historical responsibility and has an obligation for the security of Israel and its citizens."
On Tuesday, as stated, Nehammer visited Yad Vashem, where he met with Chairman Dani Dayan.
The chancellor, who previously visited Yad Vashem in November 2021 as Interior Minister, toured the Flashes of Memory exhibition of Holocaust photography, according to the Government Press Office, and participated in a memorial ceremony in the Hall of Remembrance.
JNS.org contributed to this report.
