The Ministry of Agriculture’s Parliamentary State Secretary, István Nagy, held talks with the Russian Federation’s Deputy Minister of Agriculture Ilya Shestakov in Moscow today.

The most important topics of the meeting included animal husbandry, crop production, seed cultivation and the production of GMO-free foods and feeds. As a result of the meeting, the Russian Federation has committed itself to being GMO-free. Hungary offered to share the background to its GMO-free legislation in view of the fact that retaining the GMO-free status of agriculture is also an important strategic issue for Hungary because of the inherent environmental, health-related, economic and social risks posed by GMOs. Both parties agreed to support scientific cooperation between the two countries, as well as the strengthening of relations between research centres within the fields of biotechnology and aquaculture.

Both parties voiced the importance of the hidden potential present in regional investment cooperation and reviewed opportunities for joint Hungarian-Russian investment projects. The partners agreed to support cooperation on new investments projects based on mutual benefits. The goals of such cooperation include increasing trade volume between the two countries and the realisation of joint investment projects that have mutual benefits for both Hungary and Russia.

Both the Ministry of Agriculture of the Russian Federation and the Hungarian Ministry of Agriculture welcomed the fact that concrete economic cooperation has come about within the field of duck and goose farming.

(Ministry of Agriculture)