Mr Dung noted that economic and trade ties between Vietnam and Hungary have grown and flourished in recent years. The two countries have signed a number of major agreements including those on economic cooperation, investment promotion and protection, double tax avoidance, sci-tech cooperation, and agricultural cooperation.

He went on to say that Hungary considers Vietnam a priority partner in its development and cooperation policy and it has pledged to raise official development assistance (ODA) capital to the Southeast Asian nation to US$49.5 million in 2009.

Two-way trade has increased considerably, reaching US$110 million last year, up 25 percent against 2007. The EU member nation has invested in 7 projects in Vietnam with a total capitalisation of US$42 million.

“However, the results have not yet matched the two countries’ potential and met their people’s aspirations,” said Mr Dung. “The Vietnamese government creates favourable conditions for Hungarian businesses to operate successfully in the country.”   

He said that Vietnam has introduced solutions to prevent an economic slowdown and stimulate growth and these solutions have begun to take effect. The national economy, which has shown green shoots of recovery, is expected to grow between 5-5.2 percent this year and 6.5 percent next year.

At the forum, Vietnamese and Hungarian businesses signed cooperation deals on information technology, education-training, the environment and urban management, and the breeding of cold water fish.