It is a great privilege for me to represent the Government of Hungary at this ceremony honouring the Independence Day of India.

Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Dear Guests,

It is a great privilege for me to represent the Government of Hungary at this ceremony honouring the Independence Day of India.

It is also my pleasure to warmly welcome the timely initiative of the Embassy of India in Budapest to present its publication on the development of Hungarian-Indian relations. I truly believe that it will contribute to what has been our target since the establishment of the diplomatic relations, which took place exactly 65 years ago, namely to further strengthen relations and interactions which exist between our countries on a solid and traditionally friendly basis.

I would like to use the opportunity as well to announce that the Hungarian Government decided to extend our diplomatic representation in India in order to support the development of our bilateral economic and commercial cooperation. The first step in this regard will be the opening of the Hungarian Consulate General in Mumbai, the business and financial centre of India.
Our decades-long bilateral relations and the fruitful cooperation of our two countries have always been characterised by shared fundamental values, friendly atmosphere and strong cultural ties.

This relationship hasn’t been short of dramatic moments like the intervention of Mr Jawaharlal Nehru, then Prime Minister of India at the UN General Assembly on behalf of the leaders of the Hungarian Revolution of 1956. The political and economic changes in 1990 opened a new chapter in the Indo-Hungarian relations. Bilateral agreements of various fields have been signed to strengthen the cooperation from trade to culture, education and investment. These agreements have laid down the foundation of day-to-day cooperation between companies, educational and scientific institutions and, most importantly, people to people exchange.

The ‘Global Opening Strategy’ of Hungarian foreign policy focuses mainly on those partners with whom we share common aspirations and who are ready for a long term economic and trade cooperation with Hungary. The growing economic and political potential of India clearly indicates its place as a cornerstone in the Asia-strategy of Hungary. The development of mutually beneficial cooperation with our Asian partners in general, and with India in particular, is among the top priorities of the Hungarian Government.
In this spirit, India is considered a strategic partner for Hungary in the political, economic and human fields, including scientific, educational and cultural co-operation. Attributing special importance to the economic and trade cooperation, we are firmly determined to launch a new dimension of our bilateral relations with particular attention to our economic ties. Indian companies in recent years have been very active in investing in Hungary, thereby providing jobs for thousands of Hungarian people. We would like to welcome further Indian investments in the future, while India remains one of the strategically most significant target countries for Hungarian foreign trade policy.

The great interest and warmth that Hungarians display towards India and her diversified cultural traditions underpin our overall bilateral relations. Bilateral cultural and educational relations will remain for us especially important in the future as well. The sound proof of our commitment is the 30-plus year old presence of the Hungarian Information and Cultural Centre in New Delhi, which is the only such Hungarian institution Asia.

The immense cultural and spiritual heritage of India has always been and will always be an important source of inspiration for Hungarian intellectuals, artists and scientists.

Last year we commemorated together the 170th anniversary of the death of Hungarian scientist Alexander Csoma de Kőrös. This year is also special, however, in our cultural ties as we celebrate the centenary of the birth of India’s Budapest born eminent painter, Amrita Sher-Gil. Her exhibition was opened last month by visiting Indian External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid. I encourage all of you to visit the exhibition in Balatonfüred.
Mentioning Balatonfüred we shall not forget that this year is also the centenary of Rabindranath Tagore’s Nobel-prize, who had special Hungarian connections during his lifetime. To continue even further: we also remember in 2013 the 50th anniversary of the death of Amrita Sher-Gil’s uncle, the famous indologist, Ervin Baktay, as well as the 100th anniversary of the death of Hungarian orientalist Ármin Vámbéry.

We firmly believe that the traditional bonds of friendship as well as future high-level meetings and discussions, such as the Hungarian Prime Minister’s visit to India later this year, will assist in further developing our multifaceted and mutually beneficial relationship. With high level political commitment in both countries as well as the mutual interest of Indian and Hungarian companies in forging closer relationships, our overall cooperation and partnership is poised to grow from strength to strength.

Today, we have also gathered to bid farewell to Ambassador Gauri Shankar Gupta, who is about to complete his duties in Hungary at the end of this month. While thanking you for your invaluable contribution to the enhancing of the bilateral ties between our countries, I wish Your Excellency every success in your future endeavours.

Ladies and Gentlemen, on this auspicious occasion of celebrating the Indian Independence Day, let me sincerely congratulate to our eminent, distinguished and long-time Partner and Friend: India and its People.

Thank you for you kind attention.

(Ministry of Foreign Affairs)