AIES Visit to Taiwan and Southeast Asia
Board member Alfred Gerstl visited the region
May 29, 2026 / Indo-Pacific
Ambassador Gerhard Eisl attended the presentation at ISIS Malaysia, the leading Malaysian think tank.
AIES Board Member and Senior Advisor Prof. Alfred Gerstl visited Taiwan, Vietnam, Malaysia, and Singapore in May 2026. He gave presentations on the European Union’s relations with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the role that smaller European countries can play in deepening security and economic ties.
He also participated in background discussions with Austrian Ambassadors Philipp Agathonos (Vietnam), Gerhard Eisl (Malaysia), Peter Storer (Singapore), and Christian Helbig, Head of the Austrian Office in Taiwan, as well as with Southeast Asian diplomats and scholars. During the discussions, the significant expertise of Austrian companies was highlighted, particularly in the fields of energy, water and waste management, transportation, technology, and dual vocational training. There was also great interest in the AIES security policy studies on neutrality and the war in Ukraine. Furthermore, closer academic exchange between the AIES and Asian research institutions was discussed within the framework of the Indo-Pacific focus of the AIES.
Ambassador Peter Storer attended the presentation at the National University of Singapore.
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Ambassador Agathonos, Prof. Gerstl and the Slovak and Czech Chargés d’affaires, Marián Vereš and Jaroslav Zuckerstein, took part in a discussion with representatives of the Diplomatic Academy of Vietnam, an AIES partner, on strategic autonomy in Europe and Southeast Asia.
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