Hungary, Argentina poised to boost economic cooperation

Photo: https://www.facebook.com/szijjarto.peter.official

Everything is in place for Hungary and Argentina to boost their economic cooperation, as there are no political disagreements between the two countries, Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó said in Buenos Aires on Wednesday.

Szijjártó is in the Argentine capital for talks with local business leaders interested in Hungary, before meeting his Argentine counterpart later in the day, the foreign ministry said in a statement.

Argentine companies are expressing more and more interest in Hungary, given that it is “the most business-friendly environment and has the lowest taxes in Europe”, Szijjártó said.

He noted the investment of an agricultural company using GMO-free technology in Hungary and that Argentina’s railway company is looking to involve Hungarian businesses in the upgrade of its trains.

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Bilateral trade turnover grew by 80 percent to reach a record high of over 200 billion dollars last year, Szijjártó said.

“There are serious opportunities for economic cooperation before us,” the minister said, emphasising that Hungary and Argentina had no unresolved issues.

Under an agreement to be signed by the two countries, Hungary will offer 25 scholarships each year to Argentine students to study at Hungarian higher education institutions, he said.

Meanwhile, Szijjártó said the armed conflict in Ukraine had a negative impact on the entire world.

“The effects of the war on the economy, food security and energy security are being felt all over the world regardless of how far a country or a continent is from Ukraine,” Szijjártó said. He said the world was running out of time to ease the global consequences of the war.

Hungary and Argentina are in agreement that the war in Ukraine must end as soon as possible, he said.

“We would like the international community to finally put aside proposals that risk the escalation, continuation or spread of the war,” Szijjártó said. “The focus should instead be on proposals that bring us closer to peace.