MINSK, 14 January (BelTA) – Belarus hopes Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban will pay a visit to Minsk in 2019, Belarus Prime Minister Sergei Rumas said as he met with Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Peter Szijjarto in Minsk on 14 January, BelTA has learned.
“The Belarusian government attaches great importance to the all-round relations with Hungary but the backbone of our cooperation is economy. I think time has come we bolster our interaction. During the meeting with the Hungarian prime minister in October we agreed that he will visit Belarus in February", Sergei Rumas said.
The prime minister proposed to discuss the dates of the visit and its agenda. According to Sergei Rumas, the high level of political interaction between Belarus and Hungary should be supported by economic projects. For example, the pharmaceutical company Gedeon Richter has been operating in Belarus for many years. In 2017, a joint venture in the construction industry was established in Hungary. “We hope that these projects will not be the only ones in our relations, and we are awaiting new proposals from the Hungarian side,” the prime minister noted. The Belarusian government is ready to provide full support to such projects, first of all the EU market-oriented projects and the ones supporting the Chinese initiative of the new Silk Road.
Peter Szijjarto proposed to discuss a number of such projects, including in the pharmaceutical industry. “We consider this area to be strategically important,” he noted.
According to the press service of the Belarusian government, the trade between Belarus and Hungary in January-November 2018 increased by 8% from the same period of last year to total $179.3 million. The volume of trade in services in January-October 2018 rose by 21.7% to $16.3 million. Major exports were transport, computer and travel services. There are eight enterprises with Hungarian capital in Belarus.
