On 11 April 2016, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Dr. László Szabó received his Chilean counterpart, Edgardo Riveros, within the framework of a political consultation. The Chilean diplomat also paid a courtesy visit to Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó and Deputy Speaker of Parliament Dr. János Latorcai.

The purpose of the visit was to maintain the dynamics of the traditionally good and regular relations between the two countries and to review current and prospective bilateral and mutually beneficial current international issues. Chile views Hungary as a Central European hub, as indicated by the fact that that in addition to Hungary the Chilean Deputy Foreign Minister will only be briefly visiting Lisbon and Paris during his visit to Europe.

DownloadPhoto: Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade

Trade flow between the two countries is continuously increasing, expanding by 25 percent in 2015 to a record level of 90 million US Dollars. In addition to the USD 72.5 million in Hungarian exports, which grew by 26% compared to the previous year, Chilean exports to Hungary also increased to USD 18 million. Deputy Minister Riveros welcomed Hungary’s economic diplomacy measures (the opening of a trading house and the appointment of a foreign trade attaché to Santiago de Chile) and announced that Chile was planning to introduce similar official measures to expand trade in the interests of further developing relations between the two countries. The parties agreed to begin talks on a treaty to prevent double taxation and expressed their hope that, through simplifying regulations and making the business environment even more attractive, the treaty will provide further impetus to our economic relations.

DownloadPhoto: Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade

During the meeting, Mr. Szabó and his Chilean counterpart also agreed on the final text of the Working Holiday Scheme (WHS) treaty to be signed between the two countries to enable the temporary employment of young tourists visiting each other’s countries. The WHS treaty tangibly contributes to reinforcing human relations and especially interactions between young people, enabling them to acquire a deeper insight into each other’s countries. Within the framework of the treaty, citizens of the two countries aged between 18 and 35 may remain within the territory of the other party for a period not exceeding one year and can work without the need for special permission providing the object of their visit is primarily tourism and not employment.

(Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade)