Top Vietnamese legislator’s visit to deepen partnership with Hungary

This statement was made by Vietnamese Ambassador to Hungary Nguyen Thi Bich Thao in a recent media interview given to discuss the significance and purpose of the official visit to Hungary by the top Vietnamese legislator.

Both nations have enjoyed a 72-year history of friendship and strong traditional ties across a variety of fields, including education and training, law and justice, culture, sports, and people-to-people exchanges. Hungary regards Vietnam as a key partner in the Southeast Asia region.

Moving forward, the two countries are seeking to ramp up bilateral partnership in multiple areas and the effective implementation of the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) during NA Chairman Hue’s official visit to Hungary which will take place from June 26 to June 28.

Diplomatic relations were first established on February 3, 1950, and ties have since been elevated to a comprehensive partnership, with this coming during a visit by Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong to the Central European nation in 2018.

Bilateral ties have witnessed remarkable progress since then, with both sides closely and effectively co-ordinating efforts and offering mutual support at multilateral parliamentary forums.

Most notably, Hungary was very active in pushing for the ratification of the EVFTA, being the first among EU member states to ratify the EU-Vietnam Investment Protection Agreement (EVIPA).

Two-way trade hit US$1.1 billion last year with an improved balance of trade, despite enduring the negative impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Hungarian Government also donated 256,000 COVID-19 vaccine doses and 100,000 rapid test kits to help the country battle the pandemic, whilst also transferring 400,000 vaccine doses to the nation under a non-profit mechanism.

Furthermore, Hungary has been the largest provider of scholarships for Vietnamese students among EU nations and is taking necessary steps to establish a Hungarian cultural centre in Hanoi.

It is fully committed to providing the nation with ODA loans worth EUR440 million to be used in the implementation of a number of priority projects throughout the country. This includes the construction of a cancer hospital in the Mekong Delta city of Can Tho which has received special attention from both the Government and National Assembly of Hungary.

Last July saw NA Chairman Hue participate in online talks with his Hungarian counterpart László Köver to discuss ways in which to further foster bilateral relations between the two countries and the two law-making bodies moving forward.

The two legislatures also maintained the exchange of high-ranking delegations, thereby sharing their experience and holding exchanges between their committees and parliamentary friendship groups. This is in addition  to close co-ordination at regional and international inter-parliamentary forums like the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly (AIPA), Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), Asia-Europe Parliamentary Partnership Meeting (ASEP), and the Parliamentary Assembly of the Francophonie (APF).

The visit also serves to demonstrate the high political determination of each side to maintain and elevate their parliamentary co-operation, with a new agreement for the next phase expected to be signed to replace the old one inked in June, 2008. This will make it more relevant to the current status of bilateral ties and the new situation, he said.

During the upcoming visit, the two countries also expect to bolster bilateral ties in the fields of economics, trade-investment, healthcare, culture, and education-training, as well as accelerating talks and signing of several agreements, thereby pushing for the adoption of a number of projects funded by ODA from Hungary.

According to Ambassador Thao, the visit aims to reaffirm the country’s strong political commitments to promote the comprehensive and extensive development of the joint partnership, as well as deepening the parliamentary relations between the two NAs.

It is therefore expected that the two top legislators will sign an agreement to strengthen regular and practical co-operation between the two legislative bodies in the new period.