“These days Europe is primarily concentrating on its southern neighbourhood with regard to immigration, but its eastern neighbourhood is at least as important from the point of view of the security of the continent, and so it is in Europe’s interests for there also to be stability and peace there”, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó told Hungarian news agency MTI in a telephone interview on Tuesday following several meetings in Chişinău.

In the Moldovan capital the Minister met with, amongst others, President of the Republic Nicolae Timofti, Prime Minister Pavel Filip and Minister of Foreign Affairs and European Integration Andrei Galbur. According to Mr. Szijjártó all European policies must now target the restoration of security, to which the stability of the EU’s eastern neighbourhood is also indispensable.

“As a country that lies on the eastern border of the European Union, Hungary is fully aware of the importance of eastern stability and accordingly is calling for the further enhancement and activation of the Eastern Partnership programme”, the Minister said. The Eastern Partnership is the best instrument for the stability of the EU’s eastern neighbourhood, he pointed out.

“Moldova is the top student of the Eastern Partnership and accordingly is vital to the peace and stability of the European Union’s eastern neighbourhood”, the Foreign Minister said. Mr. Szijjártó arrived in Chişinău with the message that Hungary is calling for the European Union to speed up the country’s EU integration because both Moldova and the EU’s eastern neighbourhood will be more stable as a result, which is not just a security interest, but also an economic interest.

Mr. Szijjártó and his negotiating partners agreed to tighten bilateral economic relations in three areas, the first of which is agricultural cooperation: both countries want a GMO-free Europe and will work together in future to achieve this goal.

The Minister also concluded a food safety and agricultural cooperation agreement during his visit to Chişinău, in addition to which the parties agreed that in the interests of modernising Moldova’s agriculture Hungary will be exporting some 400 thousand dollars’ worth of irrigation technologies to the country within the framework of a UN programme.

Mr. Szijjártó pointed out that Hungarian pharmaceuticals manufacturer Richter is the market leader in Moldova. He asked his negotiating partners to establish a more flexible and favourable environment for foreign enterprises. This would also enable Richter to further increase its market activities there.

The third area of cooperation is water management, a field in which Moldova is showing a major interest in Hungarian technologies. Hungary’s export-import bank has opened a 61 million euro credit line in the interests of facilitating the significant development of economic relations within the field and with the goal of enabling trade flow to exceed one hundred million euros. Hungary has also offered thirty scholarships for students from Moldova to attend Hungarian universities from September of this year.

“Hungary will continue to support Moldova’s European integration, which serves both our security and economic interests”, Mr. Szijjártó said, summarising his negotiations in Chişinău.

(MTI)