Hungarian PM begins official visit to VN

Since the establishment of diplomatic ties on February 3, 1950, the European country has offered valuable support and assistance to Viet Nam during the past struggle for national independence and the current cause of national construction.

Over the past years, the two countries have deepened political ties based on mutual trust and understanding, laying a firm foundation for fostering cooperation in economy, trade, investment, culture, education and security  and defense.

Bilateral economic cooperation has progressed significantly with two-way trade reaching US$266 million in 2016, up 36.28% against the previous year. The figure rose over 60% to US$145 million in the six months this year.

Viet Nam mainly ships garment, footwear, computers, electronic products, transport vehicles and spare parts to Hungary while importing medicine, machines, chemicals and animal feed.

By the end of 2016, Hungary had 15 valid foreign direct investment projects in Viet Nam with combined capital of over US$50.66 million, ranking 55th among 105 countries and territories investing in Viet Nam.

Hungarian investors have poured capital into processing and manufacturing, communication and real estate.

Regarding development cooperation, in January 2016, the two countries inked a framework agreement on financial cooperation worth €60 million for the Can Tho Tumor Hospital project.

In January this year, the two sides signed another framework agreement worth €440 million for projects in the fields of water management, pharmaceuticals and health care, information technology, agriculture, and security-defense.

During President Ader Janos’s visit to Viet Nam in November 2014, Hungary increased the number of scholarships to 100 per year. From the 2017-2018 academic year, the figure will be 150 scholarships.

Both countries have inked a number of agreements, protocols and memoranda of understanding on science-technology, environment, double taxation avoidance, investment encouragement and protection, and agricultural cooperation.

Now, more than 4,000 Vietnamese are living and working in Hungary./.

By Hoang Ha