Deputy State Secretary Szilveszter Bus held political and economic talks in Buenos Aires on 3-4 May 2017. In addition to his meetings at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Worship, he was also received at the Office of the President and met with representatives of the Ministry of Production, the Ministry of Education, the Argentina Investment and Trade Promotion Agency and the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires.

Mr. Bus confirmed the invitations extended to President Mauricio Macri and to Foreign Minister Susana Malcorra to visit Hungary. At his meetings with his Argentinian partners, the Deputy State Secretary outlined the Hungarian Government’s “Southern Opening” policy and in particular our goals and efforts concerning the Latin American region. He presented Hungary’s economic achievements and stressed that the outstanding economic performance of recent years has created favourable conditions for the expansion of Hungary’s diplomatic and foreign trade presence in Latin America.

Hungary considers the new Argentinian administration’s commitment towards international cooperation and economic opening to be important and promising. It increases the trust and confidence of potential partners and opens up new opportunities for bilateral cooperation. Both countries are interested in entering new markets and our aim is to increase competitiveness via economic ties and to pave the way for their dynamic development. Although bilateral trade between Hungary and Argentina is still relatively moderate, due to no small extent to ten years of isolationist policy on the part of Argentina, but increased by almost 20% last year.

The parties identified several areas of possible cooperation during their meetings, especially within the fields of infrastructure, water management, smart city technologies and agriculture. Deputy State Secretary Bus asked for the support of his Argentinian negotiating partners to facilitate the swift finalization of our pending bilateral agreements. In addition to strengthening links at a governmental level, prospective cooperation between the two chambers of commerce, as well as between the two capitals, is also very promising. Overall, we are witnessing the beginning of a new and energetic chapter in Hungarian-Argentinian relations. The economic performance and increasing political weight of Central Europe, as well as Argentina’s increased openness to international relations, both provide an excellent basis for this.

(Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade)