Foreign Minister János Martonyi had a bilateral meeting with the recently appointed Foreign Minister of India, Salman Khurshid, at the ASEM summit in Laos.

Foreign Minister Salman Khurshid stated that his government regarded Hungary as a significant partner in Europe and that India appreciated Hungary’s contribution to promoting EU-India relations. India also appreciates Hungary’s support for reforming the UN as well as the Security Council including India becoming a permanent member of the UN Security Council. The Foreign Minister of India stressed that he was glad to have his first bilateral meeting with his Hungarian counterpart.

Minister Martonyi pointed out the importance of high-level meetings and expressed his thanks for India’s contribution to the International Cyberspace Conference hosted in Budapest this October. In connection with the visit of the Hungarian Prime Minister to India early 2013, he said that the exact date of the visit would be specified soon. Minister Martonyi invited his colleague to pay an official visit to Hungary.

The Hungarian Foreign Minister stressed that Hungary’s relations with India extend to political, economic as well as to cultural areas. Economic cooperation is promising since bilateral trade has increased by five times over the past 5 years.  India had made considerable investment in Hungary, which has provided employment for nine thousand workers. Minister Martonyi stated that Hungary encouraged Indian companies making further investment, especially in the IT and biotechnology sectors representing high added value. Hungary particularly welcomes such large companies as Tata or Apollo Tyres.

Salman Khurshid praised Hungary hosting the ASEM Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in 2011. India will be hosting the next meeting and Salman Khurshid asked the Hungarian side to share their experience on organizing the event. An Indian delegation of experts will visit Hungary to learn about the lessons of last year’s meeting.

Minister Martonyi informed his Indian counterpart about the EU efforst aimed at managing the current fiscal crisis, and he stressed that there had been some improvement in the economic performance of the EU lately.  He also stated that the measures for increasing fiscal discipline and competitiveness would, by time, bring the expected results.

(Ministry of Foreign Affairs)