The Vietnam - Hungary Friendship Association Central Committee held a meeting in Hanoi on August 29 to celebrate the National Day of Hungary (August 20) and the National Day of Vietnam (Sept. 2).

Addressing the function with the presence of Hungarian Ambassador Vizi Lazlo, the association’s President Nguyen Dang Vang stressed that Vietnamese people, who used to study and work in Hungary and who are in the European country, have been actively contributing to boosting cooperation between the two countries, especially in economics, culture, science and education.

Hungary provides Vietnam with about 500,000 EUR in non-refundable aid each year to carry out projects in natural sciences, medicals, agriculture and technique.

Two-way trade between Vietnam and Hungary has constantly increased in recent years, from 38.4 million USD in 2004 to 90.57 million USD in 2007 and about 100 million USD in 2008.

At present, about 4,000 Vietnamese people are studying and living in Hungary. Another 4,000 Vietnamese used to be there in the past, with most of them being scientific experts at various levels./.