The Hungarian-Flemish Joint Commission held its scheduled meeting on 21 January 2013 in Brussels. The Hungarian Co-Chairman of the Joint Commission, Minister of State for Employment Sándor Czomba, signed an agreement with his Flemish partner, Secretary-General of the Flemish Foreign Ministry Koen Verlaeckt on the work agenda for the upcoming period.

A cooperation agreement was concluded between the Hungarian Government and the Flemish Government in 1994. The cooperation, which thus gained official form, and the exchange of experiences were crucial for Hungary’s preparation for EU accession. Since then, projects related to education, culture and environmental protection have proven to be the most successful fields of cooperation. It has been a telling sign of the significance of Flemish-Hungarian economic relations that trade with Flanders traditionally constitutes almost three-quarters of Belgian-Hungarian trade volume.

Within the framework of the cooperation, the new work agenda for 2013-2014 sets out objectives in the following fields: improvement of economic relations, infrastructure development, agriculture, environmental protection, regional development, water management, traffic and transport, in addition to proposing deepening cooperation with regard to applied scientific research and technical development and in relation to culture, education, healthcare, employment, labour and social issues.

The work agenda now signed enables the development of Flemish-Hungarian economic and cultural relations through the elaboration of clear-cut projects, programmes and scholarships.

(Ministry for National Economy)