Foreign ministry: Ukraine development vital for Hungary

Kiev, May 14 (MTI) – Ukraine’s successful political and socio-economic transformation is of vital importance to Hungary, a foreign ministry official said in Kiev on Thursday.

Speaking at the Doing Business in Hungary forum, Petra Pana, deputy state secretary for the foreign ministry, said she was confident that Ukraine’s transatlantic integration could boost economic ties between Hungary and Ukraine.

Contrary to forecasters’ projections, the Ukraine conflict has not led to a drop in bilateral trade between the two countries, she said.

Bilateral trade decreased by 5.5 percent in 2014 compared with the 10 percent decline indicated by projections, Pana said.

She said Ukraine’s European Union accession would mean “joining a distribution channel that could provide a living for Ukraine’s small and medium-sized companies”.

The deputy state secretary listed agriculture, the food industry, energy, the electronics sector, the chemicals industry and environmental protection as fields for cooperation.

Source: http://mtva.hu/hu/hungary-matters