Hungary, Georgia to promote one another’s companies

Hungary and Georgia’s governments have agreed to help companies find investment opportunities and business partners on one another’s market, State Secretary of Defence Tamás Vargha said after a session of the Hungarian-Georgian inter-governmental committee for economic cooperation on Friday.

On this occasion, the Hungarian University of Agriculture and Life Sciences and Shota Rustaveli University of Batumi signed a cooperation agreement, the ministry said in a statement. The agreement, Vargha said, may boost cooperation in wine production and other branches of agriculture with rich traditions in Georgia.

The state secretary confirmed Hungary’s commitment to Georgia’s Euro-Atlantic integration, calling it a mistake that that country, unlike Moldova and Ukraine, had not been granted EU candidate membership status earlier this year. He pledged Hungarian support in accelerating the accession process.

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Both countries have a vested interest in establishing a large electricity line under the Black Sea to connect their grids, Vargha said. He noted that the low-cost air link established between Hungary and Georgia would booth both business ties and tourism.

The ministry said that two-way trade amounted to 60.4 million euros in the first seven months of this year, 116 percent more than during the corresponding period of 2021. Last year Hungary granted state scholarships to 121 Georgian students, it said.