MINSK, 3 March (BelTA) – Belarus appreciates Hungary's support for the efforts to promote the dialogue between Belarus and the European Union, Belarusian Minister of Foreign Affairs Vladimir Makei told reporters following his meeting with Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Peter Szijjarto on 3 March, BelTA has learned.
“The relations with Hungary are advancing in virtually all the areas; the two countries maintain political contacts; a direct dialogue with the minister of foreign affairs and trade has been established,” Vladimir Makei said. He noted that Hungary knows what's what in Belarus-EU relations and supports Belarus ‘in all the matters without exception'.
The parties signed a cooperation program between the ministries for 2020. “It has already become a good tradition. I think we will keep it up,” Vladimir Makei noted.
The minister noted that Belarus-Hungary trade and economic cooperation is on the rise. According to him, the most promising avenues of cooperation include construction, pharmaceutics, nuclear power, agriculture, finances and banking, tourism and innovations. “Today we have discussed plans to take our cooperation to a brand-new level,” Vladimir Makei said.
Joint production of Stadler bilevel electric rail cars can be viewed as a flagship joint project. These double-decker trains will be used in suburban rail service in Hungary. “An agreement has been reached to supply a significant number of such trains to Hungary,” the Belarusian foreign minister said.
With this said, he believes that bilateral economic contacts fall behind political cooperation between the two states. Thus, the parties agreed to rectify the situation by implementing joint projects.
Vladimir Makei noted that a possibility of raising the level of contacts was also discussed at the talks. “It is not a secret that we discussed possible time frames and dates of mutual visits. We believe that any high-level and highest-level visits give a substantial impetus to bilateral cooperation. It is clear that such visits should be meaningful and should yield good results,” the minister said.
