The texts of five bilateral international agreements were finalised at the meeting of the Hungarian-Algerian Joint Economic Committee. These are expected to be signed during a visit to Hungary by the Algerian Prime Minister in a few weeks’ time, Minister of State for Economic Diplomacy Levente Magyar said.
Mr. Magyar underlined that the Arab region, the Middle East and North Africa are key areas for Hungary from the point of view of economic and political cooperation, and that good cooperation between Hungary and Algeria has well-established traditions.
The Algerian Minister of Agriculture Sid Ahmed Ferroukhi commented after the meeting that he considered the first session of the Hungarian-Algerian Joint Economic Committee a success and had high hopes for economic cooperation between the two countries in various sectors including technology and knowledge transfer.
Minister of State Magyar said that other bilateral agreements were still being worked on which could also be signed during the Prime Minister’s visit.
The Minister of said that Hungary would soon open a trading house in Algeria. He mentioned that about 100 Algerian students are currently receiving state scholarships to study in Hungary based on an agreement signed two years ago and their number would increase in future, in addition to which framework agreements would also be signed with regard to other opportunities for cooperation including within the areas of agriculture, water management, tourism, transport and infrastructure.
Cooperation is facilitated by the fact that a considerable Hungarian community lived in Algeria for decades and several thousand Algerian students have studied in Hungary over the years, Mr. Magyar added.
Minister Sid Ahmed Ferroukhi stressed that Algeria wishes to consolidate the results of developments to date and is striving to establish partnership relations and cooperation with other countries in economic, social and cultural fields.
It was established at the Budapest meeting of the Hungarian-Algerian Joint Economic Committee that important areas of possible cooperation include agriculture, industry, services, information communication technology, tourism, the construction industry, culture and archival research, the Algerian Minister of Agriculture said, adding that he believes the Hungarian trading house to be established in Algeria will also play a signifcant role in forging relations between the two countries.
(MTI)
