Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó opened a consular representation in the Laotian capital of Vientiane on Friday.

At the opening ceremony, Mr. Szijjártó said one of the goals of his second official visit to Laos is to prepare for a visit by Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, which will probably be scheduled to take place in November. “The Hungarian government decided ten years ago in favour of the Eastern Opening Policy”, Mr. Szijjártó reminded those present. “We understood that the East will be becoming increasingly significant. We understood that many technological developments and research results will be coming to the global market from the East. And based on the figures and statistics, I must say that Hungary was right”, the Foreign Minister stated. “Every European country is striving to establish successful relations with Eastern countries, primarily within the field of the economy and trade. The only difference is that we can allow ourselves to not be hypocritical with relation to sanctions, and to not criticise Eastern countries while also attempting to do business with them. We base our relations with Eastern countries on mutual respect, including our relationship with the Lao People’s Democratic Republic”, Mr. Szijjártó declared.

The Minister expressed his satisfaction with relation to the fact that Hungarian enterprises have played a very important role in the development of Laotian agricultural, water management and digitalisation, and that hundreds of young Laotians have studied at Hungarian universities. “We currently maintain one hundred scholarship places a year for Laotian students to study in Hungary”, he added. Mr. Szijjártó expressed his hope that the European Union will soon authorise the conclusion of a mutual investment protection agreement between the two countries, and that negotiations on the agreement may be successfully closed prior to the visit to Laos by Prime minister Viktor Orbán. “The newly opened consular representation will not only be dealing with consular issues, but also economic issues. Hungary is the fourth European Union member state following Germany, France and Luxembourg to open a consular representation in Laos, and Laos is the eighth ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) member state in which Hungary is operating a consular representation”, the Foreign Minister pointed out.

Mr. Szijjártó told reporters that in view of the coronavirus pandemic Hungary has provided financial assistance to Laos, and on Friday also donated defibrillators in the interests of assuring the suitable functioning of the Laotian healthcare system. Following his meeting with Laotian Foreign Minister Saleumxay Kommasith on Friday, Mr. Szijjártó announced that following the 198 million U.S. dollars already provided, Hungary and Laos have agreed to launch a new tied aid loan program within the framework of which Hungarian enterprises will be realising 100-million-dollars in investment projects in the Southeast Asian country. The Minister held several bilateral meeting while in the Laotian capital, including with Prime Minister Thongloun Sisoulith.

(Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade/MTI)