A foreign trade and consular office will be opened in Australia’s largest city, Sydney, in order to better enforce Hungary’s economic interests and to promote the unity and continued survival of the Hungarian national community in Australia, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó announced on Thursday on the occasion of his visit to Sydney.

In an interview given to the Hungarian news agency MTI by telephone, he said that in Sydney he met with the representatives of Australian trade and investment organisations, members of the European Australian Business Council and representatives of the local Hungarian community. While on the day before, during the course of his talks in Canberra, the agenda featured the trade aspects of Hungarian-Australian economic cooperation, in Sydney they talked about investments.

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Mr Szijjártó said that Australia’s increasing interest in Central-European investments may constitute a major resource for "underpinning” the growth of the Hungarian economy. Several large Australian fund manager corporations see in Central-Europe the growth potential that is able to deliver a fair recovery on their capital investments, and consequently, Hungary, too, has moved to the forefront of interest. Australian investors are now exploring and considering ever more thoroughly and intensively the opportunities inherent in the resumed mining industry and water industry investments as well as in the development of industrial logistic infrastructure related to the automotive industry.

The Minister said: by virtue of the fact that the attention of Australian investors is now being directed towards Central-Europe, opportunities for cooperation between the V4 and Australia are also coming into being. He reiterated that Hungary will assume the Presidency of the Visegrád Group (Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary) as of July.

Mr Szijjártó agreed with Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop that she will pay a visit to Central-Europe in the second half of the year, and they will launch cooperation in the "V4 plus Australia” format.

He stressed that this may constitute a new resource for the growth of the Hungarian economy, and the Hungarian community of some one hundred thousand living in Australia, which is deeply embedded in Australian society via different organisations, may likewise serve as a major additional resource.

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"I have not met a single Australian politician who did not praise the contribution of the Hungarian community and Hungarian people to the development of Australia so far. In order to improve the representation of the Hungarian community and the coordination of their organisations, we have decided to reopen our representation in Sydney in the second half of the year: a foreign trade and consular office will be set up in order to better enforce Hungary’s economic interests and to promote the unity and continued survival of the Hungarian national community”, Mr Szijjártó highlighted.

(MTI)