PH eyes stronger relations with Hungary
THE Philippine government remains optimistic the country will have stronger bilateral ties and closer economic cooperation with Hungary following the signing of several agreements between Manila and Budapest.
Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. in his speech at the recent National Day of Hungary, said the Philippines sees a “reinvigoration” of economic ties with Hungary.
“Since the reopening of the Hungarian Embassy in Manila, the Philippines is witnessing a reinvigoration of our bilateral relations with Hungary,” Locsin said delivering a speech on behalf of President Rodrigo Duterte.
He noted that high- level exchanges between the two countries have taken place since the reopening of the Hungarian Embassy, creating a “strong momentum” in the understanding between the two countries.
From his visit to Hungary this year, productive visits by officials from the Departments of Agriculture,
Foreign Affairs, and Trade and Industry (DTI); members of Congress; the Philippine National Police; and the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council also followed.
“They testified that our countries have entered a higher level of relations. Case in point, the inaugural
meeting of the Philippine-Hungarian Joint Commission on Economic Cooperation (JCEC) in Budapest earlier this year played an important role in enlarging our business and investment relations,” Locsin said.
“With the signing this year of agreements in export promotion, investment promotion, and agriculture — our countries are on the path to closer economic cooperation,” he added.
Communications Secretary Martin Andanar, for his part, said he expects the relationship of the two countries to generate mutual tangible benefits.
“As the relations of our two countries are more and more being revitalized, we anticipate more opportunities opening up for businessmen, tourists, students and other stakeholders that would boost the economic potential of both the Philippines and Hungary for the benefit of the people,” Andanar said.
The DTI earlier said Hungary is a minimal source of foreign investments in the Philippines.
On the trade side in 2016, Hungary ranked as the country’s 40th trading partner, 26th export market, and 64th import supplier.
To increase economic ties, the Philippines and Hungary earlier this year convened the inaugural meeting of the Philippines-Hungary JCEC in Budapest.
The inaugural JCEC was led by DTI Undersecretary Ceferino Rodolfo and István Joó, deputy state secretary for Export Development of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade of Hungary.
The first meeting of the JCEC is one among the several high-level meetings that have taken place between the two countries since the reopening of the Embassy of Hungary in Manila in March 2017 during the visit of Foreign Affairs and Trade of Hungary Minister Péter Szijjártó.
The 45th Anniversary of the diplomatic relations between Hungary and the Philippines was also celebrated in 2018.
The inaugural JCEC serves as a platform to discuss means to improve trade and investment relations. It also sets out cooperation
initiatives in key fields of interest such as trade and investment promotion, manufacturing, water treatment and management, agriculture and food industry, information and communication technologies (ICT), transport, education, culture, tourism, sports and health.
The forum highlighted opportunities in each other’s markets, particularly in investments for manufacturing, automotives, electronics, ICT and infrastructure, as well as food and non-food trade and paved the way for increased business-to-business links.
During the forum, several memoranda were also signed. These include a memorandum of intent between the Philippine Board of Investments and the Hungarian Investment Promotion Agency; memorandum of understanding between the Philippine International Trading Corp. and Hungarian Export Promotion Agency; and the memorandum of understanding between the Philippine Sports Commission and the Ministry of Human Capacities of Hungary on cooperation in the field of sports.