Szijjártó holds talks with Asian foreign ministers

Bangkok, October 14 (MTI) – Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó held bilateral talks with counterparts from Malaysia, Singapore, Laos and Mianmar on the sidelines of a meeting of foreign ministers from the European Union and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in Bangkok on Friday.

He told MTI by phone that Hungary and Singapore were linked by the strong presence of “startups based on innovative research and development” and Singapore considers Hungary a main partner for cooperation in this field. An 820 million dollar credit line was opened this year to help Hungarian companies involved in R+D representing high added value become successful on the Singapore market, he added.

He said that new export licences have been issued for meat products, allowing Hungarian premium goods to be sold on the market in Singapore.

Szijjártó said he shared the view of his counterpart that cooperation should not involve interfering in each other’s domestic affairs. Hungary supports the signing of a partnership agreement between Singapore and the EU as soon as possible, he added.

Commenting on his talks with his Malaysian counterpart, Szijjártó said it was agreed that an economic cooperation agreement would be signed and 40 students would be granted Hungarian scholarships. They also agreed to amend air transport regulations in order to enable the Malaysian airlines to start selling tickets to Hungary.

Szijjártó said he had agreed with his counterpart from Laos to launch a 30 million dollar tied aid scheme under which Hungarian companies would develop a food safety system for the Asian country. Additionally, Hungary will receive agricultural university students from Laos, he said.

Commenting on talks with his counterpart from Mianmar, he said starting from next September, 30 students will start their studies on scholarship in Hungary. A Hungarian company has received the opportunity to develop a mobile payment network in Mianmar, as a result of which Hungary’s presence in the country’s infocommunications market will be significant in the upcoming period, Szijjártó said.

Photo: MTI

Source: MTI