The Agreement states that the Kunsthistorisches Museum of Vienna, one of the riches European art museums possessing the famous Habsburg collections, joins the State Hermitage Museum and the Solomon Guggenheim Foundation agreement concerning their mutual close cooperation signed earlier.

The Agreement stipulates: long-term programmes of exchange of the museum objects; joint exhibitions in the museums - parts to this Agreement, and in other museums of the world; participation in the international projects with the collections, exhibition experience and organizational structures of the museums – parts to the Agreement.

The Agreement also envisages cooperation of the museums in the sphere of publication of books, catalogues and making of the museum souvenirs. The museums agreed to work out special educational programmes in the form of cultural exchange between St. Petersburg, Vienna, New York, Venice, Bilbao, Berlin, Amsterdam and London.

The Agreement includes paragraphs on regular exchange of the staff between the museums for scientific and practical work. Special programmes of mutual privileges for the Friends' Clubs Participants of the State Hermitage Museum, Kunsthistorisches Museum of Vienna and Guggenheim Foundation are also stipulated by the Agreement.

On signing the general Agreement the work on preparing detailed plans has already started. In the nearest future the State Hermitage Museum is displaying one of the paintings by Nicolas Poussin in the Vienna Kunsthistorisches Museum. Under discussion is also the share of the Hermitage participation in the exhibition "Flemish Landscape Painting" in Vienna. Under way is the project of exhibiting some masterpieces from the collection of the Vienna Kunsthistorisches Museum (Duerer, Arcimboldo, Bruegel) in the State Hermitage Museum. Meetings devoted to the organization of joint exhibitions in St. Petersburg, Vienna and New York are in progress.

The State Hermitage together with the Guggenheim Foundation will take part in the discussion of reconstruction plans for the Vienna Kunsthistorisches Museum and the Maria Theresa Square in Vienna.

As Mikhail Piotrovsky, Director of the State Hermitage Museum stated, the Agreement signed is going to become a new efficient step towards application of the museum collections of the world for global education.