New Delhi: India and Hungary have had a diplomatic cordial relationship since the early 1950s and both countries continue to strengthen their partnership through high level diplomatic visits, cultural collaborations and economic collaborations as well, especially in the areas of renewable energy, tourism and defence as well. To speak about that and a lot more.
Hungary’s Ambassador to India István Szabó discusses a host of issues with TV9 Network Executive Editor Aditya Raj Kaul in our episode of The Diplomat.
Hungary-India trade relations flourish
He welcomed the growing bilateral trade between the two nations, reaching USD 1.2 billion, highlighting pharmaceuticals as a key area of cooperation and emphasied Hungary’s potential as a gateway to Europe for Indian investors.
“We are delighted to see a growing number. Of course, the volume of our bilateral trade has been growing and we reached the level of 1.2 billio dollars. I like to highlight, for example, pharmaceutical industry, you know, has had industry, pharmaceutical products. We have joint venture of the biggest Hungarian company out to their own with its partner company in India. .And on this joint venture, you know, they set up our manufacturing plant and it is a good example for that. And also, you know, we think that Hungary can be a gateway, you know, to Europe for Indian investors, ” Szabó told TV9 Network.
Rich cultural ties
He also talked about the strong cultural ties between the two countries, citing the Hungarian Cultural Centre in Delhi and the Amrita Shergill Indian Cultural Centre in Budapest as examples of institutions promoting cultural heritage and exchange between the two nations.
“I must say that we have a very good institutional background and this domain, probably the oldest one and the most productive one. I mean, the cultural area you mentioned you know, uh, the least, uh, institute Hungarian cultural centre here in Delhi and in Budapest, you know, we have the Amrita Shergill Indian Cultural Center, and they do their best to promote cultural heritage of both countries. And local audience, you know, can enjoy all the performance, you know, they can get, uh, uh, in within these institutions, ” Szabó said.
‘India-Hungary scientific cooperation’
He highlighted the strong scientific cooperation between India and Hungary, based on a 2008 agreement, with a joint research fund and partnerships between over 50 universities and 30 research centres.
“What I like to say that we have an agreement. You know, on the scientific and technological cooperation between India and Hungary. It was signed in 2008 and this is a very good basis, you know, for working together. And we have a common research fund between India and Hungary. And it supports all research and development projects and programs.So it is a very good program as far as the institutional cooperation is concerned. We have more than 50 universities having cooperation with partner universities. So it is a big number if you if you think about it and we have almost 30 reserve research centres. Also having agreement and even more use for working together, ” he said.
