Minister of State for Economic Regulation at the Ministry for National Economy Kristóf Szatmáry – who is also responsible for external economic affairs – paid an official visit to India, Thailand and Vietnam between 28 January and 1 February.

The visit has been a coherent component of the economic diplomacy offensive launched in the region’s countries in the spirit of Hungary’s “opening to the East” policy. The main objective of the visit was to prepare forthcoming economic joint commission meetings, review tasks related to former meetings and to stimulate the establishment of concrete business relations.

In India the Minister of State took part in the Partnership Summit, an international gathering, where he met with the partners and representatives of the Ministry of Commerce and Trade of India and the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII). He also held individual meetings with the representatives of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry and a large Indian vehicle manufacturing conglomerate wishing to invest in the region.

Among the issues discussed at the meetings were the cooperation opportunities and projects on the agenda of the forthcoming sessions of the Indian-Hungarian Economic Joint Commission as well as other business events.

As the next leg of his tour, in Thailand the Minister of State was welcomed on 30 January by the Co-Chairman of the Thai-Hungarian Economic Joint Commission accompanied by Thailand’s Board of Investment, the representatives of the local Industry Association and leading businesspeople in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. An agreement was concluded on organizing a meeting for the bilateral Joint Commission in the second part of 2013 in Budapest. At a brief stop in Bangkok, Kristóf Szatmáry consulted with the representatives of Thailand’s Ministry of Commerce and Chamber of Commerce who were keen to promote cooperation in the field of car industry, agriculture and food industry, environmental protection and water management.

In Vietnam Kristóf Szatmáry paid a visit to Vietnam’s Ministry of Industry and Trade where he held a meeting with the Deputy Minister. They both agreed that the session of the Joint Commission in October 2012 provided an impetus for the establishment of bilateral relations, and that opportunities for further cooperation are the most promising regarding information technology, information-communication, energetics, agriculture and healthcare.

In the Finance Ministry and the Ministry of Planning and Investment the parties expressed their satisfaction that the Government of Hungary extended the validity of two (ODA type) aid loans which enable the completion of water management, population registry and oncology hospital projects in Vietnam. At the discussions the parties identified further projects. The Hungarian delegation undertook at the request of Vietnam to examine the financing means for the projects at issue.

Representatives of Rába held meetings with potential Vietnamese partners as they were seeking the opportunity for long-term professional cooperation. The representative of the pharmaceuticals company Gedeon Richter discussed the potential expansion of the company’s market presence. Within the framework of the government visit, Entervill Kft concluded a cooperation agreement in the field of illuminants.

(Ministry for National Economy)