It is in the interests of both parties for Hungarian-Russian cooperation in agriculture to continue, the two countries’ agriculture ministers agreed at a meeting in Moscow on Monday.

During their meeting, Russian Minister of Agriculture Nikolay Fyodorov and Hungarian Minister of Agriculture Sándor Fazekas reviewed bilateral agricultural relations and came to the joint standpoint that they would like to increase trade turnover and move forward within every field of bilateral cooperation. It is in this spirit that Hungary will be participating in the Golden Autumn Russian agriculture fair at the beginning of October.

The two agriculture ministers agreed that a policy of sanctions does not provide a solution to the conflict in Ukraine, and that the crisis must be solved through negotiation. The two countries have a common interest in maintaining bilateral agricultural relations, in cooperation within the fields of animal husbandry, horticulture, the seed sector, agro-tourism, animal health, technological transfer, higher education and training, and in increasing exports.

The two ministers also felt that it was important that the Russian Magnit supermarket chain’s development project in Nyíregyháza, northeast Hungary, should continue and not be delayed. They agreed that Sándor Fazekas would head a delegation, including businessmen, to Tatarstan, Chuvashia and the Mari El Republic in the interests of expanding and deepening cooperation between Hungary and the Russian Federation.

The Russian and Hungarian standpoints are also very similar with regard to genetically modified organisms (GMOs). For instance, both are against the cultivation of GMOs and would like to keep their respective countries GMO-free, the Hungarian and Russian Ministers of Agriculture established.

During the session of the Hungarian-Russian Economic Joint Committee at the end of September, Nikolay Fyodorov will hold talks with Parliamentary State Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó, followed by another meeting with Minister Fazekas to coincide with the Golden Autumn agriculture exhibition in early October. The minister stressed that the dispute between the EU and Russia has no effect on the excellent relations between the countries’ two agriculture ministries, and this is a good basis for future cooperation.

Hungary’s Minister of Agriculture said the meeting was conducted in a pleasant and optimistic spirit. Russia also has an interest in maintaining agricultural relations and developing bilateral trade within the sector, he said, adding that both parties would like to contribute to reinforcing current growth. Other members of the Hungarian delegation included Governmental Commissioner Gyula Budai from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade and the Ministry of Agriculture’s Deputy State Secretary for International Relations, Katalin Tóth.

(Ministry of Agriculture)