Minister of Foreign Affairs János Martonyi paid an official visit to Chile between January 5 and 7 and reopened the Hungarian Embassy in Santiago de Chile. He also had talks with his counterpart and with the leaders of the Chilean Congress.

Mr Martonyi met with Chilean Foreign Minister Alfredo Moreno Charme, and expressed thanks for keeping the Chilean embassy in Budapest open despite the closing of the Hungarian embassy in Chile in 2009. He told his Chilean counterpart that Hungary was paying more attention to the Latin American region as part of its new policy of global opening. Hungary intends to bolster cooperation with Latin American countries in the areas of the economy, science and education. The Stipendium Hungaricum scholarship programme, also made available to Chile, serves to enhance bilateral relations in higher education as well, the Hungarian Foreign Minister said.

Alfredo Moreno Charme urged the signing of a Working Holiday agreement that would enable young citizens to work on a temporary basis in each other's country, and he asked Hungary's support for upgrading an association agreement between the European Union and Chile. János Martonyi promised Hungary’s support with respect to the EU-Chile agreement.

The Hungarian Foreign Minister also met with the leaders of the bicameral Chilean Congress and briefed them about the Hungarian economic achievements and the changes under way in Hungary. Chairman of the Senate Jorge Pizarro Soto briefed Martonyi on plans for the new Chilean centre-left government which enters office in March 2014. President of the Chamber of Deputies Edmundo Eluchans Urenda said he would head a delegation of Chilean lawmakers to visit Hungary in the near future to strengthen ties between the parliaments of the two countries.

The meetings at the Ccongress were also attended by Senator Antonio Horvath Kiss, of Hungarian descent, who heads the Hungarian-Chilean friendship group. Senator Antonio Horvath Kiss stressed that the potentials of Hungarian education and scientific capacities should be better publicized in Chile. During his visit in Chile, all of his partners emphasized the symbolic significance of the Hungarian Foreign Minister himself reopening the Hungarian Embassy in the Chilean capital.

(Ministry of Foreign Affairs)