Hungarian President's visit to Vietnam: Not only a symbol of foreign affairs but also an impetus for breakthrough cooperation

On the occasion of the official visit of Hungarian President Sulyok Tamas and his wife to Vietnam (May 27-29), Vietnamese Ambassador to Hungary Bui Le Thai shared with TG&VN about the focus of the visit as well as the 75th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two countries.

Ambassador Bui Le Thai presents his credentials to Hungarian President Sulyok Tamas. (Source: Embassy of Vietnam in Hungary)

Could the Ambassador tell us the significance and key contents of this visit to Vietnam by Hungarian President Sulyok Tamas?

Taking place in the context of the two countries celebrating the 75th anniversary of establishing diplomatic relations (February 3, 1950 - February 3, 2025), President Sulyok Tamas' visit to Vietnam marking an important milestone, opening up new cooperation opportunities in the Vietnam-Hungary Comprehensive Partnership. This is not only a symbolic visit in terms of foreign policy but also aims to promote substantive cooperation in all areas between the two countries.

Vietnamese Ambassador to Hungary Bui Le Thai. (Source: Vietnamese Embassy in Hungary)

The visit demonstrates the Hungarian high-ranking leaders’ appreciation of Vietnam’s growing role and position in the Asia- Pacific region as well as in the international arena. It also strongly affirms the two countries’ shared political determination to deepen and further substantiate the Comprehensive Partnership established in 2018, contributing to enhancing mutual understanding.

In addition to talks and meetings with all key leaders of Vietnam, the Hungarian President attended important cultural and people-to-people events.

This will be an opportunity for the two sides to review their cooperation over the past time, especially in key areas such as education, training, economy, trade, investment, health, science, technology, digital transformation, green energy and innovation; review and promote existing cooperation frameworks; and evaluate the implementation of cooperation agreements, especially those signed during the visit to Hungary by Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh in January 2024.

The visit is an opportunity for the two sides to exchange and discuss international and regional issues of mutual concern, thereby enhancing coordination and mutual support in multilateral forums.

Regarding the efforts to exchange high-level delegations between the two countries in recent times, how does the Ambassador assess the impact of promoting the substance and raising the level of the Vietnam-Hungary Comprehensive Partnership, especially in economic, trade and investment cooperation?

Over the past time, high-level delegation exchanges between Vietnam and Hungary have been maintained regularly and effectively. This is a vivid manifestation of the increasingly deep political trust between the two countries, creating a foundation to promote the development of bilateral relations in a more comprehensive and substantive manner.

Since the two countries established a Comprehensive Partnership in September 2018 during the official visit to Hungary by General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong, a series of high-level visits and contacts have been carried out. The most recent were the visit to Hungary by Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh in January 2024 and the visit to Vietnam by the Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Economic Relations in March 2025, along with many visits and working sessions between leaders of the National Assembly, ministries, sectors and localities of the two countries.

In addition to high-level delegation exchanges, the two countries also have regular and periodic exchange mechanisms such as political consultations at the Deputy Foreign Minister level and meetings of the Vietnam-Hungary Joint Committee on Economic Cooperation (the sub-committee chairman was recently upgraded from Deputy Minister to Minister in March 2025 during the visit to Vietnam by the Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Economic Relations).

Ambassador Bui Le Thai laid flowers at the statue of President Ho Chi Minh in Zalaegerszeg, Hungary on May 19. (Source: Vietnamese Embassy in Hungary)

Maintaining and continuously improving the effectiveness of delegation exchanges and these mechanisms contribute to consolidating the political foundation for expanding cooperation in all fields. Especially in the fields of economics, trade and investment, exchanging high-level delegations, promoting the signing of many important cooperation agreements and projects, expanding opportunities for businesses of both sides to access the market, cooperate in research, high-tech agriculture, biotechnology, water treatment, and renewable energy.

Meetings and commitments from senior leaders create strong momentum to help both sides overcome difficulties, promote substantive cooperation, and expand the scope of cooperation to new areas, such as innovation, high technology and digital transformation.

Since upgrading relations to Comprehensive Partnership in 2018, two-way trade turnover has increased significantly, exceeding the threshold of 1 billion USD, making Vietnam one of Hungary's largest trade partners in Southeast Asia.

Hungary is the first EU member state to ratify the EU-Vietnam Investment Protection Agreement (EVIPA), demonstrating the Hungarian Government's strong commitment to protecting investors' rights and creating a stable and transparent business environment.

To date, Hungary's foreign direct investment (FDI) has reached 72.36 million USD, ranking 55th out of 149 countries and territories investing in Vietnam. In the opposite direction, Vietnam has invested in Hungary in 2 projects with a total capital of 5.8 million USD and a large investment project worth more than 80 million USD has just been signed and is being implemented.

The above efforts of both countries have been making important contributions to promoting and strengthening the pillars of economic, trade and investment cooperation between Vietnam and Hungary.

2025 is the 75th anniversary of the establishment of bilateral relations between the two countries, considered a pivotal year to bring bilateral relations to a new height. Could you please share the main features that the Embassy will implement in this key year?

The year 2025 is an important milestone, not only to look back on the 75-year journey of developing Vietnam-Hungary relations, but also a key moment to establish the vision and development orientation for the next stage. Recognizing the important role of this pivotal year, the Vietnamese Embassy in Hungary has developed a specific plan with diverse, rich and innovative activities.

The Vietnamese Embassy in Hungary held a ceremony to celebrate the 75th anniversary of Vietnam-Hungary diplomatic relations and the 50th anniversary of the liberation of the South and national reunification. (Source: Vietnamese Embassy in Hungary)

The plan includes organizing key events such as the 75th Anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries, Vietnam Culture Day, photo exhibitions, photo reportages on the history of relations between the two countries from 1950 to present in Budapest as well as in provinces, cities and universities of Hungary; organizing the second European Women's Forum in Budapest, trade promotion seminars, promoting and introducing Vietnam's key export products.

The Embassy has strengthened coordination with Hungarian authorities to organize business networking events, creating a favorable environment for bilateral investment and trade; youth exchange programs, including the 11th DunaCamp-Memória Festival of Vietnamese Youth and Students in Europe in August.

The Embassy pays special attention to promoting the image of Vietnam and the comprehensive cooperation between the two countries on many media channels, creating a positive effect in the Vietnamese community, the host country Hungary and Europe.

Some outstanding activities have been implemented in the past time such as: The 75th anniversary of Vietnam-Hungary relations was solemnly held on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the complete liberation of the South and national reunification to simultaneously express gratitude for the valuable support and assistance that the Government and people of Hungary have given to the Vietnamese people in the past struggle for national liberation, as well as in the cause of Renovation and national construction today (April 29, 2025).

On this occasion, the Embassy coordinated with the Hungarian side to publish a “special magazine celebrating the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries”. On May 17, on the occasion of the 135th anniversary of President Ho Chi Minh’s birthday, the Embassy coordinated with the Zalaegerszeg city government, where the Uncle Ho statue is located, to organize a workshop on President Ho Chi Minh’s thoughts of peace, independence, freedom and happiness.

All of the above activities in this special year aim to highlight the achievements of cooperation between the two countries over the past 75 years, affirming Vietnam's trust, attachment and loyalty to Hungary, contributing to further deepening the traditional friendship and comprehensive partnership between the two countries, while opening up new, in-depth, practical and effective cooperation activities towards the future.

The Embassy pays special attention to promoting the image of Vietnam and the comprehensive cooperation between the two countries on many media channels. (Source: Vietnamese Embassy in Hungary)

Vietnam is asking Hungary to consider recognizing the Vietnamese community as the 14th ethnic minority. What does the Ambassador think about this prospect and the role of the community in connecting bilateral cooperation in the new period and new context of the country?

The Vietnamese community in Hungary, with more than 7,000 people, has been integrating well into the local community, making many positive contributions to the socio-economic development of Hungary and promoting its role as a bridge, creating a solid social foundation for the good friendship between the two peoples.

The community's proposal to be recognized as Hungary's 14th ethnic minority reflects the community's legitimate aspirations. This recognition will be an official recognition of the role of the Vietnamese community in Hungary's social life, creating conditions for our overseas Vietnamese to fully and comprehensively integrate into the local social life.

However, Hungarian law requires a community to have lived and existed in Hungary for at least 100 years to be considered an ethnic minority, while Vietnam and Hungary have only established diplomatic relations for 75 years. Therefore, according to Hungarian law, the Vietnamese community does not currently meet this requirement.

All senior leaders of Hungary highly appreciate the role of the Vietnamese community in contributing to the economic and social development of Hungary. Many Hungarian leaders affirmed that although the Vietnamese community is not legally qualified to be recognized as an ethnic minority, in reality they have considered the Vietnamese community as an ethnic minority of Hungary. This is the recognition of the Hungarian leaders for the long-term contribution of the Vietnamese community to Hungarian society as well as honoring the multicultural and multi-ethnic values ​​of this country.

The Vietnamese community in Hungary, with its growing scale, actively contributes to the development of Hungary, always turns towards the homeland and country, and has been playing a key role in enhancing people-to-people exchanges and facilitating investment cooperation activities, promoting bilateral trade.

In the context of deep integration, the Vietnamese community in Hungary will be increasingly promoted as an important "bridge", helping Vietnam and Hungary expand and deepen the Comprehensive Partnership, while contributing to building the image of friendly, dynamic and integrated Vietnamese people in Hungary as well as in the international arena.

Thank you very much Ambassador!

Source: https://baoquocte.vn/tong-thong-hungary-tham-viet-nam-khong-chi-la-bieu-tuong-ve-doi-ngoai-ma-con-xung-luc-cho-hop-tac-dot-pha-315549.html