Hungarian foreign minister urges closer EU-Thailand ties

Bangkok, October 13 (MTI) – The European Union needs to reconsider its “political boycott” against Thailand, and work to build closer cooperation with that country instead, the Hungarian foreign minister told MTI on Thursday.

Péter Szijjártó said that such a boycott was an “illogical move, entirely against commonsense”. He argued that there was a “race” between countries for cooperation with Thailand, “one of the most promising economies in the region”, and insisted that Europe’s excluding itself from that competition based on “misunderstood or quasi-arguments” was a “bad decision”.

Szijjártó urged that talks on a free trade agreement between the EU and Thailand should be resumed and the partnership accord signed as soon as possible.

Concerning bilateral economic ties, Szijjártó noted that trade turnover exceeded 500 million euros last year, and grew by another 3 percent from January to July. To further promote business cooperation, Hungary’s Eximbank has set up a 412 million dollar credit line, Szijjártó said, adding that Hungary is represented by two economic attaches in Bangkok.

Ahead of a meeting of EU and ASEAN foreign ministers, Szijjártó met Thai counterpart Don Pramudwinai, and leaders of businesses active in central Hungary.

Source: MTI