Deputy State Secretary for the Hungarian Government’s Southern Opening policy Szilveszter Bus was on an official visit to the South African Republic on 22-23 May 20017 within the framework of the bilateral consultation mechanism. The negotiations mainly centred on the further development of bilateral strategic partnership relations with one of the most important and influential countries of the African continent, which is also our number one foreign trade partner in Africa, accounting for some one quarter of our total African exports.

Mr. Bus held a bilateral political consultation in Pretoria with his South African counterpart, within the framework of which the parties reviewed all areas of Hungarian-South African relations, as well as discussing the most important regional and international issues. The Deputy State Secretary also held talks at the Minister of Defence concerning cooperation opportunities within the Ministry’s field of competence, including the facilitation of business opportunities for Hungarian enterprises within the sector. The most important event during Mr. Bus’s visit to Pretoria was the signing of a bilateral Memorandum of Understanding on water management cooperation with the South African Minister of Water and Sanitation. In addition, the Deputy State Secretary also had an opportunity to meet businesspeople with an interest in cooperating with Hungary, who were briefed on the performance and opportunities that set Hungary and the countries of the Visgerád Group apart from the European investment environment.

Download

The Deputy State Secretary’s negotiating partners showed great interest in Hungary’s economic achievements, and in the measures that led to them. With regard to concrete areas of cooperation, the joint production of electric buses developed in Hungary, and the fields of water management, agriculture, game management, the health industry, infrastructure developments (social housing construction, road construction), IT and education generated strong interest during the course of talks with representatives of the South African government and private sector.

Mr. Bus’s negotiating partners expressed their thanks with relation to the scholarship places offered to South Africa by the Hungarian Government, stressing that the Hungarian pledge could contribute to relieving the country’s shortage of skilled experts and to reducing unemployment. 100 South African students will have the opportunity to attend Hungarian universities in the upcoming academic year within the framework of Hungary’s Stipendium Hungaricum programme.

(Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade)