IVI opens Country Office in Austria

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SEOUL, South Korea, Jan. 25, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The International Vaccine Institute (IVI), an international organization with a mission to discover, develop, and deliver safe, effective, and affordable vaccines for global health, announced today the launch of an IVI Country Office in Austria. This new office signals a step forward for Austria's ambition to dial up efforts in vaccine research and development, and IVI's initiative to work closely with the Austrian government and local research network and biomedical industry.

Dr. Jerome Kim, Director General of IVI, said, "We are thrilled to share that IVI has launched its Austria Country Office in the country's capital, well established in areas of international cooperation and eager to advance its growing R&D ecosystem. In addition to IVI's Europe Regional Office in Stockholm, these two sites will generate joint grant proposals with local partners and mobilize collaborative vaccine R&D projects for global health. We are deeply thankful to the Federal Ministry for European and International Affairs of Austria for supporting the opening of this office."

The Foreign Minister of Austria, Alexander Schallenberg, said, "Austria continues to live up to its reputation as a place of encounter and international dialogue, now also increasingly in the field of vaccine research. The Vienna office will be strengthened by the location of the IVI branch and the contribution of international organizations to value creation in Austria will be increased."

On December 14, 2022, Director General Kim and H.E. Wolfgang Angerholzer, Ambassador of Austria to the Republic of Korea, signed a Seat Agreement at IVI headquarters in Seoul, Republic of Korea, securing IVI's status as an international organization hosted by the Government of Austria.

IVI is a non-profit international organization established in 1997 at the initiative of the United Nations Development Programme. 39 countries and the WHO are signatories to IVI's founding treaty, and Austria's application for membership is currently in progress. According to the Federal Ministry for European and International Affairs (BMEIA) of Austria, the government will invest an annual amount of 860,000 euros in IVI, a contribution to Austria's vaccine development in Europe and globally.

The governments of the Republic of Korea, Sweden, India, and Finland currently provide state funding, and Denmark made a core contribution of 4 million Danish kroner in 2022.