Concluding CETA in Hungary’s interest, says foreign minister in Ottawa

Washington, DC, October 24 (MTI) – Concluding the CETA free trade pact between the European Union and Canada is a vital Hungarian interest, the Hungarian foreign minister said in Ottawa, after talks with Canadian officials on Monday.

“Signing CETA as soon as possible would undoubtedly be in Hungary’s economic interests, since Hungarian companies currently suffer a disadvantage on the Canadian market against US and Mexican competitors that have trade agreements with Canada,” Péter Szijjártó said.

Signing would also help in marketing Hungarian-made vehicles as well as pharmaceutical and food products in Canada, Szijjártó said, noting the 535 million dollar credit line opened by Hungary’s Eximbank to support this goal.

The minister held talks with counterpart Stephane Dion in the morning and laid a wreath at the monument for Hungary’s 1956 revolution. Afterwards he met influential Canadian business people, including Hungarian-born gold-mining magnet and philanthropist Peter Munk.

Assessing his talks, Szijjártó told MTI by phone that Canada and Hungary would continue to be close allies, primarily in economic, trade and defence cooperation.

He announced the agreement reached with Canada’s supplier Linomar under which the auto industry supplier would invest 7 billion forints (EUR 22.7m) to create an additional 80 jobs at its plants in Orosháza and Békéscsaba, in south-eastern Hungary, where 2,300 people work already.

Szijjarto also announced that he agreed with Air Canada on its operation from next year of five flights per week between Toronto and Budapest. It is hoped this will further add to the 40,000 Canadian tourists who visited Hungary in 2015.

He said the two countries further strengthened military cooperation under which the training of Hungarian pilots will continue in Canada until 2021.

Szijjártó said he had expressed thanks to his partners for Canada’s taking in some 38,000 Hungarian refugees after the 1956 revolution.

“We are proud that today a community of more than 300,000 Hungarians is strengthening Canada,” the foreign minister said.

Source: MTI