At a meeting with visiting Hungarian PrimeMinister Viktor Orban in Hanoi on September 25, the President applaudedHungary’s continuous naming of Vietnam a priority partner in its developmentcooperation policy.
Hungry is Vietnam’s largest officialdevelopment assistance (ODA) supplier in East-Central Europe, with preferentialloans totaling 535 million EUR (roughly 636 million USD). Of the number, 440 millionEUR is within a framework agreement on credit cooperation signed by the twocountries in January 2017, he said.
Noting with joy the friendship betweenVietnam and Hungary over the past 67 years, President Quang stressed thatVietnam always places importance to developing the relations with traditionalfriends in East-Central Europe, including Hungary.
He described PM Viktor Orban’s visit as amilestone in the relationship, helping to open up new cooperation prospects forthe two countries.
With a range of cooperation agreements inkedfollowing the talks between PM Viktor Orban and his Vietnamese counterpartNguyen Xuan Phuc, the Hungarian leader’s visit is expected to create a momentumto push up the traditional friendship and multi-faceted cooperation between thetwo countries, especially in trade and investment, making the link on par withthe fruitful political ties, President Quang said.
He said the two sides should step up theexchange of all-level delegations as well as collaboration between ministries,agencies, localities and businesses in order to realise the above-mentionedagreements.
Multilaterally, the President hailed the twocountries’ close coordination at international forums, particularly within theframework of the UN, the Asia-Europe Meeting and the Mekong-Danube cooperationmechanism.
He used the occasion to thank the Hungarianside for supporting Vietnam’s candidacy for a seat in the UN Economic andSocial Council during 2016-2018 as well as its commitments to backing Vietnam’sbid to run for a non-permanent seat in the UN Security Council for 2020-2021.
He suggested Hungary promote thecomprehensive relations between Vietnam and the EU, including the earlyofficial signing and ratification of the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement.
President Quang also thanked Hungary forcreating favourable conditions for more than 4,000 Vietnamese in the countryand called on the Hungarian side to continue their support for them.
For his part, PM Viktor Orban congratulatedVietnam on its socio-economic achievements over the past decades.
With the participation of many Hungarianministers and more than 40 businesses, the visit is considered a new start forthe bilateral relationship, the PM said.
Hungary wishes to take part in a number ofVietnam’s development programmes and opens its door for Vietnam to participatein Hungary’s development in the next 20 years, he said.
The PM told his host that Hungary hascarried out several cooperation projects in Vietnam in the fields ofagriculture and health care.
Hungary has also granted 200 scholarships toVietnamese students each year and there are about 3,000 Vietnamese graduatingfrom Hungarian universities, he said, calling for President Quang’s support forthe establishment of the Hungary Culture Centre in Hanoi.
He stressed that Hungary welcomes Vietnamesebusinesses to invest in the country and stands ready to bridge Vietnam withother countries in East-Central Europe.
Hungary will be the first EU nation to approvethe EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement, he pledged.
Vietnam and Hungary issued a joint statementon PM Vikor Orban’s visit to Vietnam from September 24-26. - VNA