Hungary supports Vietnam with tied aid

Hungary supports Vietnam’s economic and social development by offering tied aid and cooperation in tourism, vocational training and family support, the state secretary in charge of family and youth affairs at the human resources ministry said on Monday.

Katalin Novák told MTI by phone that she was on a visit to Vietnam heading a ruling Fidesz parliamentary delegation which included three members of the Vietnam-Hungary friendly group: Kristóf Szatmáry, Zsolt Csenger-Zalán and Árpád Potápi. The visit has been arranged to coincide with the 70th anniversary of the two countries establishing diplomatic relations, she said. Novák added that they had met the deputy speaker of the national assembly, the ruling party’s foreign affairs official and the minister of labour, invalids and social affairs.

Vietnam, with sustained economic growth of around 7 percent, is putting resources into social development and successfully fighting poverty, she said. Hungary has been helping Vietnam with tied aid credit. It has built on oncology clinic in Vietnam and helped set up of a demographic registry system, she added.

Officials in Vietnam have expressed interest in Hungary’s methods for placing families in the focus of social and economic policies, Novák said.

Cooperation in labour market and vocational training are also important to Hanoi, Novák said. Hungary is offering state scholarships to 200 Vietnamese students in higher education, she added.

• Vietnamese workers can come to Hungary for only 1,700 US dollars
• Vietnam is Hungary’s primary partner is Southeast Asia

The Hungarian embassy in Hanoi is organising various cultural events to mark the 70th anniversary of establishing diplomatic relations this year and a Hungarian Cultural and Community Centre will open in the near future, she said.

She also noted that

the volume of trade has been steadily growing between the two countries.

The talks in Vietnam also addressed the issue of demographic projections, Novák said. Whereas Hungary and Europe are affected by demographic decline, this is expected to affect Vietnam in the future, she added.