Minister Martonyi held bilateral consultations in India with the host of the ASEM (Asia-Europe Meeting) Foreign Ministers’ Meeting, India’s External Affairs Minister Mr Salman Khurshid on 10 November 2013.

Minister Khurshid visited Hungary in July 2013, when he was the Guest of Honour at the annual Conference of Hungarian Heads of Mission in Budapest. Minister Khurshid praised the high-level discussions he had during his visit to Hungary as well as the way Hungary nurtures the memory of Rabindranath Tagore.

The two Ministers welcomed the fact that the intensity of the bilateral relations between Hungary and India grew remarkably in recent years. Minister Khurshid praised the recent organisation of the Budapest Water Summit and added that India will continue to follow closely Hungary’s water-related initiatives as Hungary’s expertise and experience is clearly visible in this field. The two Ministers discussed the opportunities created by the Stipendium Hungaricum scholarship scheme and they emphasised that the program provides new long-term possibilities for the strengthening of bilateral relations. India’s External Affairs Minister mentioned that his country is planning to offer similar scholarship opportunities.

He emphasised that they also expect long-term advantages from the agreement that is currently being negotiated on the setting up of a joint fund to support small and medium-sized enterprises. Minister Martonyi highlighted that the countries of the Visegrad Group attached great importance to the strengthening of the ties between India and Central Europe.

The two Ministers agreed that the importance of ASEM is increasing and they emphasised the need for the implementation of more concrete projects within this framework.

Minister Martonyi will attend the ASEM Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in New Delhi. On the margins of the ASEM event, he will have numerous bilateral meetings with his counterparts from Asia and the Pacific. Following the multilateral forum, Minister Martonyi travels to Kolkata where he will meet with local leaders and open the exhibition of textile artist Anna Kubinyi, recipient of the Kossuth Prize in 2013.

(Ministry of Foreign Affairs)