The Vietnam – Hungary Business Forum took place in Hanoi on October 29, as part of the activities being held within the framework of the fourth meeting of the Vietnam – Hungary Joint Committee.    

The event was jointly organised by the Trade Promotion Agency at    Vietnam’s Ministry of Industry and Trade, the Hungarian Embassy and the Investment and Trade Agency (HITA).   

Addressing the event, Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Tran Tuan Anh said that two-way trade between the two countries had reached over 80 million USD this year and is expected to go up in the future. However, he added that it is yet to match the two nations’ full potential.    

A HITA representative stated that Hungary is home to 10 million people and serves as a major relay point for goods being traded between countries in Western and Eastern Europe.    

Hungary now has over 1.6 million businesses in operation, most of them small-and medium-sized enterprises.    

Investors in the European country now have the chance to enjoy incentives worth nearly 50 percent of their total investment.    

With their strengths lying in pharmaceuticals, light industry, communications and infrastructure construction, Hungarian firms hope that Vietnam will create the right conditions for them to seek out cooperation opportunities for mutual development.-VNA