Hungary and Vietnam expand strategic partnership to nuclear energy
Hungary and Vietnam will expand their strategic cooperation to the area of nuclear energy, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó said in Hanoi on Wednesday.
After talks with his Vietnamese counterpart, Bùi Thanh Sơn, Szijjártó said that cooperation could extend to the areas of technology and training as Vietnam advances a nuclear energy programme. He added that many nuclear engineers from Vietnam had studied in Hungary earlier, and that number could climb into the hundreds in future.
Szijjártó said bilateral trade between Hungary and Vietnam could rise by over USD 1bn in 2025, boosted by imports of electronic goods from Vietnam and Hungarian exports of healthcare, food and defence products. He pointed to the delivery of a dozen aircraft by a Hungarian-owned manufacturer to Vietnam’s Air Force as well as to the role of Hungarian pharma companies Richter and Egis on the Vietnamese market for medicines.
Szijjártó announced the opening of a consulate in the port city of Haiphong, highlighting the importance of personal contacts for establishing mutually beneficial ties. Hungary advocates connectivity and global cooperation, not blocs, he added.
Szijjártó: Hungary and Vietnam stand on the side of peace
Hungary and Vietnam both belong to the international peace camp and as such they both have an interest in the soonest possible settlement of the war in Ukraine through diplomacy, the foreign minister said in Hanoi on Wednesday.
After talks with Bùi Thanh Sơn, Szijjártó said “We were in agreement that there is no solution to the war in Ukraine on the battlefield”, the foreign ministry quoted the minister as saying. “We were also in agreement that a solution to the war can solely be found through peace talks,” he said.
“This is why both Vietnam and Hungary trust that the recent US-Russian talks would bring about peace negotiated at the table for Ukraine.” He said that “from this point of view, developments yesterday evening were very promising since the talks between the US and the Russian president brought the hope of peace even closer”.
“We have never been this close to establishing peace over the course of the past three years, and we hope that Brussels will not undermine those peace efforts,” Szijjártó said, according to the ministry statement.
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