Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Bui Thanh Son held talks with Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Economic Relations Szijjártó Péter

At the invitation of Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Bui Thanh Son, Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Economic Relations Szijjártó Péter paid an official visit to Vietnam from March 18-19.

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Bui Thanh Son held talks with Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Economic Relations Szijjártó Péter.

On the morning of March 19, at the headquarters of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Bui Thanh Son held talks with Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Economic Relations Szijjártó Péter.

At the meeting, Deputy Prime Minister Bui Thanh Son highly appreciated the visit of Minister Szijjártó Péter, considering it an important activity to promote the Vietnam - Hungary Comprehensive Partnership, especially in the context of the two countries celebrating the 75th anniversary of establishing diplomatic relations (1950 - 2025).

The Deputy Prime Minister affirmed that Vietnam always attaches importance to and wishes to strengthen multifaceted cooperation with Hungary, Vietnam's first comprehensive partner in the Central and Eastern Europe region. On this occasion, Deputy Prime Minister Bui Thanh Son thanked and hoped that the Hungarian Government would continue to create favorable conditions for the Vietnamese community in Hungary to live stably and integrate into the host country, making positive contributions to Hungary's socio-economy and the relationship between the two countries.

Minister Szijjártó Péter expressed his impression of Vietnam's achievements in socio-economic development and international integration in recent times; highly appreciated Vietnam's increasingly important role and position in the region and the world; and affirmed that Hungary always attaches importance to and wishes to strengthen relations with Vietnam, Hungary's leading important partner in Southeast Asia.

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son emphasized that Hungary is an important partner of Vietnam in the Central Eastern Europe region and expressed his wish that the two countries continue to promote substantive and effective cooperation.

Having a comprehensive exchange on the socio-economic situation of each country and the bilateral cooperation, the two sides were pleased to note that, over the past 75 years, the traditional friendship and multifaceted cooperation between Vietnam and Hungary have been continuously promoted by both countries and have been developing positively in many fields, especially in politics - diplomacy, trade, investment, development cooperation, culture, education, health, etc.

Both sides appreciated that Hungary is currently one of Vietnam's major trade partners in the Central and Eastern Europe region and Vietnam is one of Hungary's most potential markets in Asia. Despite the impact of global economic difficulties, trade turnover between the two countries has maintained a positive growth momentum, reaching about 1 billion USD/year in recent years.

The two sides agreed that there is still much room for the two countries to further strengthen bilateral cooperation, and agreed on measures to promote cooperation in many potential areas in the coming period. In particular, it is necessary to increase the exchange of high-level delegations, especially in 2025; continue to closely coordinate and support each other at multilateral forums, the United Nations, ASEAN-EU, etc.; closely coordinate to make the most of opportunities from the Vietnam-EU Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA); facilitate the presence of agricultural and aquatic products of the two countries in each other's markets; encourage Hungarian businesses to increase investment in areas where Vietnam has demand and Hungary has strengths such as pharmaceuticals, livestock, food processing, water management, etc.; agreed to promote the early ratification of the Vietnam-EU Investment Protection Agreement (EVIPA).

Minister Szijjártó Péter affirmed that Hungary always attaches importance to its relations with Vietnam and is ready to support Vietnam in areas of mutual interest.

The two sides also agreed to further promote cooperation in the fields of education, nuclear power human resource training, agriculture, environment, national defense, security, culture, tourism, health, information technology and communications, and climate change response; agreed that the early negotiation and signing of the Agreement on receiving returned citizens will be a legal basis to further strengthen cooperation in the field of labor; and the 10th meeting of the Vietnam-Hungary Joint Committee on Economic Cooperation will be held soon in Hanoi.

Discussing regional and international issues of mutual concern, including the situation in the East Sea and Ukraine, the two sides agreed that disputes must be resolved by peaceful means, on the basis of respect for the United Nations Charter and international law.