An international agreement was concluded on the continued operation of the Heilongjiang University of Chinese Medicine in Budapest on Monday.
At the press conference held following the signing of the agreement, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó said that cooperation between China and Hungary has never been so good, and that education represents one of the most important pillars of our relations.
“In May, China and Hungary concluded a comprehensive strategic partnership agreement, and it is in Hungary’s interests to maintain close cooperation with one of the world’s strongest economies”, he pointed out.
“In Hungary, Chinese language reaching is assured at every level of the education system, we are home to the regional headquarters of the Confucius Institutes, and the largest such institute in regional comparison”, the Foreign Minister highlighted.
The Heilongjiang University of Chinese Medicine has had an external department at the Semmelweis University since 2010, and the Chinese institution, which has been operating for over 50 years, enjoys major professional recognition, he explained.
“In accordance with the new Act on Higher Education there are five universities in Hungary that require an inter-governmental agreement to assure their continued operations here”, Mr. Szijjártó told the press. “We have now concluded the second agreement of this kind, on this occasion with the head of Heilongjiang Province’s education office, based on the authorisation of the Government of the People’s Republic of China”, he pointed out.
Mr. Szijjártó said that in his opinion the fact that an agreement has already been signed on the Hungarian operations of a second foreign university proves that it is indeed possible to conform to the criteria set down in the Act on Higher Education, which cover all similar universities. “Agreement requires will and goodwill”, he added.
According to the minister, the agreement could represent a new milestone in Hungarian-Chinese education cooperation.
In reply to a question, Mr. Szijjártó explained that an inter-governmental agreement on the continued operation of a foreign university is concluded once an agreement is reached on all issues. “Hopefully we will also reach a stage where we can also sign the agreement with the CEU, expert studies are currently ongoing, and if the results of these are positive then we could take a great step forward towards the conclusion of an agreement”, he said.
In reply to a question on the situation in Catalonia, Mr. Szijjártó said that Hungary continues to view the issue as a matter of Spanish internal affairs.
Chairman of Heilongjiang Province’s Education Office Ms. Hsu Mei, justified the significance of the agreement with the fact that bilateral relations are founded on cultural and education cooperation. “We have been cooperation with the Semmelweis University for years, and it is this cooperation that has now been raised to a higher level”, she said.
(Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade/MTI)
