Hanoi [Vietnam], January 19: On the afternoon of January 18 (local time), Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and his wife along with a high-ranking Vietnamese delegation arrived in the capital Budapest, starting an official visit to Hungary from January 18 - 20.
The official welcoming ceremony for Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh was solemnly held at the Hungarian Parliament Square, chaired by Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban.
After the welcoming ceremony, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh laid flowers at Heroes Square in Budapest, before holding talks with Prime Minister Viktor Orban.
Many achievements in bilateral cooperation
Vietnam and Hungary established diplomatic relations on February 3, 1950. During General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong's official visit to Hungary in 2018, the two sides upgraded their relationship to a comprehensive partnership. The Vietnam - Hungary Joint Committee on Economic Cooperation has promoted its role in promoting bilateral cooperation. Two-way trade between the two countries increased from 354 million USD in 2017 to over 1.2 billion USD by 2022, reaching an average growth rate of 33%/year during this period. In particular, Vietnam's exports to Hungary will increase from 207 million USD in 2017 to 577.6 million USD by 2022, reaching an average growth rate of 37%/year. Notably during this period, the total import-export turnover between the two countries reached over 1 billion USD for 3 consecutive years from 2020 to 2022, despite being significantly affected by the Covid-19 pandemic.
Up to now, Hungary has 15 valid FDI projects in Vietnam with a total registered capital of 50.66 million USD, ranking 55th out of 105 countries and territories with direct investment in Vietnam. In terms of investment, among Hungary's 15 projects, there are 3 projects in the manufacturing and processing sector with a total investment capital of 41.82 million USD. Ranked second is the communications field with 3 projects with a total investment of 5.87 million USD. Real estate business ranked third with 1 project, total investment capital of 2 million USD. The remaining are other fields.
Since 2003, Hungary has included Vietnam in its priority list for receiving development aid. In 2004, the ODA program began to be implemented with a freshwater fish farming project. In 2005, non-refundable aid to Vietnam was 600,000 USD, in 2006 it was 110,000 USD (Project to develop garment industry to export crocodile skin products). In 2007, Hungary's ODA commitment to Vietnam was equivalent to the 2006 level of 500,000 EUR. In 2008, Hungary continued to provide aid to Vietnam with 500,000 EUR and lend 35 million EUR in preferential credit to implement the clean water supply project in Quang Binh (phase 1) and the Ministry's electronic population management project. Police in Hai Phong (handed over and put into operation).
In 2009, Hungary committed 60 million EUR in preferential credit for the City Oncology Hospital construction project. Can Tho has a scale of 500 beds. In January 2016, the two sides signed a financial cooperation agreement worth 60 million EUR to build Can Tho City Oncology Hospital. In January 2017, the two sides signed a framework agreement on credit cooperation worth 440 million EUR between the Government of Vietnam and the Government of Hungary.
Judicial cooperation: a highlight of Vietnam - Hungary relations
Sharing with the Vietnamese press, Mr. Zsigmond Barna Pal, Deputy Minister, Secretary of State in charge of Parliamentary Relations of the Hungarian Ministry of European Affairs, said Hungary currently has a very good relationship with Vietnam and really wants to Enhance cooperation in all fields, from politics, culture to economics. The high-level talks between the Prime Ministers of the two countries are of historical importance and create a good opportunity to establish joint projects to benefit the people of the two countries.
Mentioning achievements in bilateral cooperation, Mr. Zsigmond Barna Pal expressed his impression of the special positive relationship between the two countries' judicial and legislative bodies. In just the last few months of 2023, the Hungarian Minister of Justice, the Chief Procurator of the Hungarian Supreme Procuracy and the First Vice Chairman of the Hungarian Parliament all visited Vietnam. At meetings between the two sides, the two countries committed to maintaining regular exchanges of judicial delegations as well as continuing to create favorable conditions for active dialogue in this field in the future.
Cooperation in the field of law and justice between the two Ministries of Justice has been strengthened through signed documents, including the Agreement on Mutual Legal Assistance in Civil Fields, the 2012 Cooperation Agreement, and the Cooperation program for the period 2022 - 2023 and Letter of Intent on cooperation in the field of staff training signed in November 2023. Accordingly, the Hungarian side also provides a 10-month postgraduate training program at Pazmany Peter Catholic University specifically for training Vietnamese experts in the field of justice.
Education and the bridging role of the Vietnamese community
In addition, according to Mr. Zsigmond Barna Pal, education also plays a key role in the multifaceted relationship between Hungary and Vietnam. Educational relations have been promoted several decades ago. In particular, the Stipendium Hungaricum scholarship program is a pillar in Hungary's development cooperation and support policies for Vietnam.
Through this program, Hungary provides 200 scholarships annually to Vietnamese students and this program is of great interest to Vietnamese youth. Every year, the program receives more than 400 applications from Vietnamese students, more than double the allocated quota.
"We are also pleased to welcome outstanding Vietnamese students, who in the future can act as a bridge between the two countries and contribute to further strengthening the already very close relationship between the two countries. country", Mr. Zsigmond Barna Pal further shared.
Besides, Vietnam and Hungary still have many opportunities and prospects to strengthen economic and trade relations as well as strengthen bilateral cooperation. " Sports and culture are bridges between peoples. The two sides discussed cooperation in these two areas. We welcome Vietnam to strengthen cooperation in all fields with Hungary," Mr. Zsigmond Barna Pal expressed.
Deputy Minister Zsigmond Barna Pal also mentioned the role of the Vietnamese community as a bridge in relations between the two countries. He said that the Vietnamese community in Hungary has about 10,000 people and most live and work in Budapest. "In fact, the Vietnamese community in Budapest has integrated well into Hungarian society . That has made the Hungarian capital a colorful and culturally lively place," said Deputy Minister Zsigmond Barna Pal.
Vietnamese Ambassador to Hungary Nguyen Thi Bich Thao said that, in the context of general difficulties of the world economy , geopolitical instability and despite geographical distance, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh's visit aims to affirm respect for the relationship between Vietnam and Hungary, the only Central Eastern European country that has a comprehensive partnership with Vietnam.
"The visit of the Head of Government will also contribute to further promoting cooperation in potential fields such as high-tech agriculture, renewable energy, labor , information technology, digital transformation, green transition...", Ambassador Nguyen Thi Bich Thao said.
Source: Thanh Nien Newspaper
