Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz will be in Singapore for a three-day official visit beginning today.

His visit reaffirms the warm and friendly relations between Singapore and Austria and will be an opportunity to deepen bilateral cooperation, said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday in a statement.

Austria is the current president of the European Union, and the free trade agreement between Singapore and the EU will likely be discussed during the visit.

Singapore hopes to ratify the trade deal by the year end.

Austria was Singapore's 13th-largest trading partner in the EU last year, with bilateral trade amounting to $1.15 billion.

Some 221 Austrian companies are in Singapore, in sectors such as financial and insurance services, and wholesale and retail trade.

Mr Kurz will also focus on learning about Singapore's Smart Nation experience during his visit, made at the invitation of Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong.

Mr Kurz will receive an official welcome at the Istana and will call on President Halimah Yacob. He will also meet and be hosted to lunch by PM Lee.

While here, Mr Kurz will visit Singapore Polytechnic to learn about innovative teaching methods using technology, and the National Orchid Garden, where an orchid will be named in his honour.

He will be accompanied by a high-level delegation, including Federal Minister of Transport, Innovation and Technology Norbert Hofer, Federal Minister of Education, Science and Research Heinz Fassmann, and the Federal Minister of Digital and Economic Affairs Margarete Schramboeck.

President of the Austrian Federal Economic Chamber Harald Mahrer, senior government officials, and business and science representatives are also in his delegation.