President Truong Tan Sang and his Hungarian counterpart Janos Ader hold talks on November 27 after an official welcome ceremony for Hungarian guests in Hanoi.
The two State leaders briefed each other on the situation in their respective country and exchanged views on bilateral relations as well as on regional and international issues of shared concern.President Sang thanked the Hungarian people for their great support and assistance for Vietnam in the past struggles for national independence and reunification and the current national construction process. He also applauded the outstanding achievements Hungary has recorded in socio-economic development, macroeconomic stability and the European integration.
For his part, the Hungarian President spoke glowingly of Vietnam’s renewal accomplishments and its rising regional and international profile while saying Hungary is set to open a Consulate General in Ho Chi Minh City in 2015 to expand cooperation between the two nations.
President Sang and his guest noted with satisfaction the considerable progress and efficiency of the Vietnam-Hungary relations over the years and asserted their recognition of high importance to developing the time-honoured friendship and all-around cooperation between the two countries.
The two sides agreed to co-host celebratory activities in 2015 in the run up to the 65th anniversary of diplomatic ties between the two countries aiming to deepen mutual understanding through photo exhibitions, film weeks and art troupe exchange.
Despite the impact of the global economic crisis, the Vietnam- Hungary economic and trade cooperation has grown steadily, but is still far below their full potential and expectations.
Therefore, they concurred to effectively implement mechanisms for the Vietnam-Hungary Joint Committee for Economic Cooperation, push up bilateral trade, and create favorable conditions for businesses to seek partners and conduct market research, especially in the areas of Hungary’s strength and Vietnam’s needs such as infrastructure development, food processing, pharmaceuticals, urban planning, public transportation, environmental protection, and water resource management.
The two Presidents consented to foster bilateral cooperation in education and training, science–technology, security-defence, natural resources and the environment, health and agriculture.
President Sang asked Hungary to consider providing additional ODA for projects that Vietnam has an urgent need for water resource management, reforestation, waste management, public health and insurance system reform. He thanked Hungary for deciding to increase the number of annual scholarships for Vietnamese students from 40 to 100, starting from 2015.
President Janos Ader confirmed that as a proactive member of the European Union (EU), Hungary is ready to support the promotion of relations between Vietnam and the EU, accelerate the early approval of the Partnership and Cooperation Agreement (PCA) and signing of the Free Trade Agreement between Vietnam and the EU and the finalization of the Vietnam-EU Free Trade Agreement Vietnam - EU (EVFTA) negotiations and urge for the early recognition of Vietnam’s full market economy.
Host and guest also expressed their satisfaction with the close and effective coordination between the two countries at international forums and agreed to bolster affiliation in this field.
Regarding the East Sea issue, the two sides held that any dispute should be resolved by peaceful means on the basis of respect for international law, particularly the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (DOC) towards achieving a Code Conduct in the East Sea (COC).
After the talks, Sang and Ader Janos met with media workers and witnessed the signing of a number of cooperation documents.
The same day, President Sang gave a banquet in honour of President Janos Ader, his spouse and senior delegation.
