Hungary is committed to the development of cooperation within the framework of the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM), and to this end tabled three proposals, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s address delivered at the Brussels summit of ASEM – which was sent to the Hungarian news agency MTI by Bertalan Havasi, the Prime Minister’s press chief – revealed.

The 12th Asia-Europe Meeting held on Thursday and Friday was attended by the heads of state and government of 51 countries.

In his address Mr Orbán pointed out that Hungary is able to contribute to the strengthening of cooperation between East and West in three ways: by removing the obstacles that stand in the way of trade and investments, developing connection points and tightening relations between people.

In the spirit of the above the Hungarian Prime Minister suggested that the process of the conclusion of free trade agreements should be accelerated, whether in the stage of negotiations or ratification. According to Mr Orbán, these agreements should cover the widest possible range of goods and services.

On the other hand, he suggested that cooperation between inter-regional financial institutions such as the European Investment Bank, the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank and the International Investment Bank should be intensified. This would help to raise supplementary funds for the implementation of infrastructure projects that connect Europe and Asia together.

As a third element, Mr Orbán highlighted the importance of common scholarship programmes which “enable new generations to successfully cope with the challenges that are currently emerging”.

Praising the country’s economic and trade results, the Prime Minister underlined that “Hungary does everything it can to contribute to the success of cooperation between Europe and Asia”.

(MTI)