“Cooperation with Australia represents a major competitive advantage for the V4”, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó said on Friday in Budapest.
At his press conference on the meeting of foreign ministers from the countries of the Visegrád Group (the Czech republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia, the V4) and Australia, Mr. Szijjártó highlighted: “The V4 has become Europe’s engine of growth, the axis of the European economy has also increasingly shifted towards Central Europe, and the strength of the V4 is also indicated by the fact that Australia is now focussing its attention on Central Europe”.
“The Visegrád Group supports the earliest possible commencement of negotiations on a free trade agreement between Australia and the EU, and it supports the Bulgarian EU Presidency in its efforts to assure that a decision is already reached by the end of February so that negotiations can commence this spring”, he stressed, adding: “The topics of the automotive industry and agriculture will be particularly important to the V4 during the course of the negotiations”.
“The V4 has always practiced ‘a politics of common sense’ with regard to security and economic policy, and accordingly it is now becoming evident that not only are European countries and European businesses showing interest in us, but that there is global interest in Central Europe”, the Minister explained, adding that: “The V4 has always been capable of developing strong ties with countries from outside Europe”.
Mr. Szijjártó said the current meeting was important in view of the fact that Australia is a major economic player that has been capable of producing continuous economic growth during the past 25 years. “The EU and world economies, including Central Europe, are preparing for major changes, such as the fact that focus is increasingly shifting from production to digitalisation and the added value of workplaces is becoming increasingly important”, he explained.
According to the Minister, the countries of the V4 “have never shied away from competition”. “Cooperation with Australia, where innovation and research & development are particularly important, represents a major competitive advantage to us. Cooperation with Australia will be tightened within the fields of innovation, education and research & development”, he said.
“This meeting was the first official foreign visit on the part of his Polish and Czech counterparts, and this was the first time that the V4 has held talks with Australia at ministerial level”, he noted. “Today’s is not the last meeting of this kind: the countries of the V4 and Australia will be holding negotiations at Foreign Minister-level in February”, he added.
Australia’s Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment Steven Ciobo called for increased trade and investment and for the reinforcement of economic relations with Europe, including with the countries of Central Europe.
He stressed that there is a significant Central European community living in Australia, and that similarly to the region’s countries, the level of unemployment is extremely low. The Minister said he expected the free trade agreement between the EU and Australia to lead to the strengthening of relations, adding that as one of the world’s most rapidly developing regions for the past 25 years, Australia would also like to cooperate with the countries of the Visegrád Group within the field of research and innovation.
Polish Minister for Entrepreneurship and Technology Jadwiga Emilewicz declared: “Visegrád cooperation is experiencing a renaissance, its member states have reached a turning point”. “For Poland, Australia’s economic significance is far in excess of its size, and the further expansion of relations requires the removal of all hindrances to trade”, she added.
On the subject of improving research and development relations, the Polish Minister called for the continuation of cooperation and the expansion of cultural ties.
From among the topics of discussion at the meeting of ministers, she also mentioned immigration policy: “Australia has significant experience within this field and is capable of assessing who its job market can incorporate”, she said. “The countries of the Visegrád Group have a unified standpoint on this issue and wish to also represent it to a major extent in Brussels”, she said.
Slovakian Economy Minister Peter Ziga said the meeting had launched a dialogue that would most certainly be continued, not least because of the free trade agreement, of which the V4 is a committed supporter. The Minister said he expects successful negotiation with regard to the treaty, but pointed out that based on experience so far we cannot expect rapid results.
The Minister said that today’s meeting has confirmed that the V4 has a future, and that it is contributing significantly to the EU’s development.
Czech Minister of Industry and Trade Tomás Hüner spoke about the fact that the meeting proves the commitment of the Visegrád Group countries to close cooperation. The Czech Republic regards the Australian economy as exemplary, with which it is definitely worthwhile establishing good relations.
(Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade/MTI)
