“There are no political barriers and no open questions within the field of political cooperation that could endanger, prevent or impede bilateral economic and business cooperation between Hungary and Moldova”, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó said on Thursday morning at the opening of the Hungary-Moldova Business Forum. “Political relations have never been so good”, the Minister underlined.

“It is true that the two countries have realised 120 million dollars in annual trade flow, which represents an increase, but it is also true that we are justified in feeling that there is something lacking, because this 120 million dollars is still very far from what we could achieve”, Mr. Szijjártó underlined. “In the interests of assuring that, in addition to the political conditions, the financial conditions for cooperation are also available, Eximbank will be opening a 100-million-dollar credit line that may be used exclusively to finance Hungarian-Moldovan business cooperation”, Mr. Szijjártó announced. “I ask that you exploit this opportunity”, the Minister added at the opening of the Business Forum.

Mr. Szijjártó highlighted the fact that the role of “flagships” is extremely important. “There must be flagships, large companies that are at the forefront of cooperation, and which provide an opportunity for smaller companies to also establish cooperation”, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade declared. Mr. Szijjártó explained that Hungary’s largest bank, OTP, is now the number one operator on the Moldovan financial market, and this is affording Hungarian enterprises the opportunity to operate and run securely. He also mentioned that Hungary’s largest pharmaceutical industry company Richter is also a market leader in Moldova, and there is major market demand for the company’s products. “Hungarian enterprises are also playing a leading role within the field of agriculture, within certain fields of animal husbandry”, the Minister added.

Mr. Szijjártó informed those present that the next session of the Hungary-Moldova Joint Economic Committee has been convened for May in the interests of assuring that no regulatory or political cooperation issues remain open. “The Hungarian economy is in a state of dimensional transition, and today we are increasingly transforming from a production-orientated economy into a technology and knowledge-based economy”, the Minister said, indicating that the Hungarian enterprises operating in Moldova represent state-of-the-art technology, and accordingly could contribute to increasing the country’s economic development and level of technology.

Mr. Szijjártó underlined the fact that since 2010 and the introduction of its Eastern Opening policy, Hungary has always practiced a balanced economic policy, “and as a Central European country we absolutely profess that there is a need for cooperation between East and West, and that there is a need for pragmatic dialogue between East and West, and in our view Moldova could play the role of a bridge, not only in a political sense, but also in an economic sense”. “In our eyes, the fact that you are also part of eastern-orientated economic integration, are members of the Commonwealth of Independent States and have observer status within the Eurasian Economic Union, represents a value and increases your importance”, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó underlined. Moldova is also a member of the European Union’s Eastern Partnership Program, together with five other former Soviet states: Ukraine, Belarus, Armenia, Georgia and Azerbaijan.

(MTI)