“Latin America is one of the world’s most rapidly developing regions, and Hungary must exploit the resulting opportunities”, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó said on Wednesday in Budapest following talks with his Columbian counterpart.
At the joint press conference following the meeting, Mr. Szijjártó stressed: “Columbia is one of Hungary’s most important partners in the Latin-American region, the country is entering a period of explosive development and Hungarian companies are achieving increasing success there”.
“Economic cooperation with Latin America within the framework of the Eastern Opening strategy is one of the most important focus pints of Hungary’s foreign trade strategy”, the Minister explained. “Hungarian exports to Latin America increased by 49 percent during the first eight months of this year, exceeding one billion euros, which is promising with regard to the future”, he said.
Mr. Szijjártó said that in his opinion the Columbian peace agreement is creating an opportunity for major economic growth and providing Hungarian enterprises with excellent opportunities primarily within the fields of information technology, the pharmaceutical industry and water management.
“Bilateral trade flow between the two countries has increased by 19 percent so far this year, which indicates the interest that enterprises are showing in economic cooperation”, the Foreign Minister said. “Hungary is supporting Columbia’s bid for membership of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), and we have begun negotiations on the conclusion of an agreement to prevent double taxation”, he said, adding that in addition the parties had signed several agreements on mutually supporting each other’s bids for various positions within the United Nations.
Columbian Foreign Minister María Ángela Holguín Cuéllar announced that Columbia and Peru will be opening a joint embassy in Hungary in the interests of further expanding relations.
“It is a good thing that Hungary regards Latin America, and within it Columbia, as an important partner”, she said, explaining that Columbia has traditional partners in Europe such as Spain and France, but would like to also expand relations with countries with whom cooperation has not been particularly close so far, and accordingly Hungary has also come to the forefront.
“The end of the conflict in Columbia has opened up major opportunities in several sectors, and primarily in agriculture, which is of interest to many Hungarian companies, in addition to which Columbia is also making a major effort to boost tourism”, the Columbian Foreign Minister said.
(MTI)
