General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV)’s Central Committee Nguyen Phu Trong (right) receives Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban during the later's visit to Vietnam in September 2017. (Source: VNA) Hanoi (VNA) – General Secretaryof the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV)’s Central Committee Nguyen Phu Trongwill pay an official visit to Hungary from September 8-11 at the invitation ofHungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban.
The visit holds historical significance asit is the first trip by Vietnamese Party leader to a country in Central EasternEurope since institutional transformation in the region.
It aims to create a new landmark andmomentum for the bilateral relationship, while enhancing mutual trust andunderstanding between leaders and peoples of the two countries.
The visit is also expected to deepen the traditionalfriendship and multi-faceted cooperation between Vietnam and Hungary, andadvance their cooperation framework to a comprehensive partnership in order to makenew and more practical changes in bilateral collaboration across various fieldsand promote Vietnam’s influence in Central Eastern Europe.
Through the Party leader’s trip, Vietnamwants to affirm its policy of considering Hungary an important and traditionalpartner in the region and enhance the bilateral relations in the areas of bothsides’ potential and strength.
Vietnam and Hungary established diplomaticties on February 3, 1950. Over the past years, active progress has been made inthe bilateral relations, with high political trust and regular exchange ofdelegations, especially at the high levels, through Party, Government, NationalAssembly and local channels.
Between 2014 and 2017, Vietnam welcomed Hungary’sPresident, National Assembly Speaker and Prime Minister. Meanwhile, VietnamesePresident, National Assembly Chairperson and Prime Minister also visited Hungaryduring the period.
The two sides have effectively cooperatedwith each other at multilateral forums, especially the United Nations (UN) andwithin the Asia-Europe Economic Meeting.
The Hungarian Government has committed tobacking Vietnam’s bid to run for a seat at the UN Security Council for the2020-2021 tenure. The country has also proposed Mekong-Danube cooperation,effective water resources collaboration, sub-regional connectivity andenvironmental protection.
With seven meetings, the Vietnam-HungaryJoint Committee on Economic Cooperation has carried forward its role in forgingthe bilateral cooperation.
The two countries have signed manyagreements and documents, creating legal frameworks for their affiliationacross fields.
Hungary has considered Vietnam the mostimportant partner in Southeast Asia. Over the past years, their economic andtrade ties have increased sharply, with two-way trade exceeding 355 million USDfor the first time in 2017.
As of April 2018, Hungary had 17 validprojects in Vietnam with total registered capital of 63.56 million USD, ranking57th out of 126 countries and territories investing in the country.
Besides, the two countries have madestrides in cooperation on law-making, justice, national defence-security,health care, education-training and partnership between localities.
Education is a traditional cooperationsphere and a spotlight of the bilateral ties in the new period. Over the pastyears, Hungary is the only country in Eastern Europe to constantly increasescholarships for Vietnam.
Regarding cooperation between localities,Hanoi’s Tay Ho district has set up twinning relationship with 16 districts ofHungary’s Budapest. Besides, Hoi An city of central Quang Nam province and theMekong Delta city of Can Tho have also established ties with Szentendre andKaposvar cities of Hungary.-VNA
VNA
