VIENNA: Saudi Arabia’s economy ministry and its Austrian counterpart signed a memorandum of understanding to boost economic cooperation between the two nations. The Saudi Ministry of Economy and Planning Austria’s Ministry of Labor and Economy in the deal on the sidelines of the Saudi-Austrian Joint Committee held in the Austrian capital. The MoU was signed by the Saudi Minister of Economy and Planning Faisal bin Fadel Al-Ibrahim, and the Austrian Minister of Labor and Economy, Martin Kocher. The MoU aims to diversify and strengthen economic ties, exchange experiences and information, and encourage cooperation in a number of fields, including trade, industry, research and development, tourism, small and medium enterprises. Among the content of the MoU is the organization of conferences, seminars and the exchange of visits between experts, in addition to cooperation between government institutions and the private sector. The parties are also committed to protecting intellectual property rights and exchanging information for the purposes specified in the MoU. This MoU comes within the framework of a cooperation agreement in the economic, commercial, industrial and technical fields signed between the two governments in 2004