Budapest (VNA) – Hungarian Minister of ForeignAffairs and Trade Peter Szijjártó will pay an official visit to Vietnam on October 16,on the occasion of the 70th anniversary of the two countries’ diplomatic ties.
The minister is scheduled to hold talks with Deputy PrimeMinister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh, pay a courtesy call to PrimeMinister Nguyen Xuan Phuc, discuss with Minister of Culture, Sports and TourismNguyen Ngoc Thien about a cultural cooperation programme. Both sides will alsodiscuss the building of a Hungarian cultural centre in Vietnam.
Hungarian Ambassador to Vietnam Ory Csaba said Szijjártó will also attend a ceremony to inaugurate a ceramic roadpartly funded by the Hungarian embassy.
Szijjártó’s Vietnam visit is partof Hungary’s plan to boost its “Look East” policy amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to Szijjártó, the roleof “the East” in the global economy has significantly improved in recent years andbalanced bilateral ties with Eastern countries will bring benefits to Hungarianenterprises. The COVID-19 pandemic is shaping a new global economic order inwhich Hungary wants to be one of the winners.
The upcoming visit also provesHungary’s appreciation for Vietnam’s role and position in its “Look East”policy.
Due to COVID-19 that led todisruptions in the global supply chain, Hungarian enterprises tend to diversifypotential markets, including the movement of their manufacturing operations toVietnam. As Hungary lies in the centre of Europe, the Vietnamese firms willhave a chance to learn about nearby markets, contributing to popularisingVietnamese trademarks in Europe in the near future.
Despite the pandemic, tradebetween the two nations still hiked in the first half of this year, amountingto 456.76 million USD, up 43.11 percent year-on-year. Vietnam’s exports to theEuropean nation were mostly electronics and spare parts, transportationequipment, footwear and apparel while importing machinery and pharmaceuticals.
The two countries are facing difficultiesin the disbursement of a 500 million EUR preferential credit package funded bythe Hungarian Government. Only 60 million EUR of which have been disbursed forthe construction of Can Tho Cancer Hospital.
Additionally, tens of thousands ofworkers lost jobs in Hungary due to the pandemic. Around 2,700 Vietnamese guestworkers are in the European nation./.
Photo exhibition on Vietnam opens in Hungary
A photo exhibition on Vietnam recently opened in Budapest capital of Hungary as the first of the events commemorating the 70th founding anniversary of the Vietnam-Hungary diplomatic ties this year.