Great opportunities in Hungary, Brazil economic cooperation, says FM Szijjártó

Economic ties between Brazil and Hungary hold great opportunities, Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó told a Hungarian-Brazilian business forum in Sao Paulo on Tuesday.

The two governments approach the “great dilemmas of world politics” similarly, and so no open questions weigh on bilateral ties, Szijjártó said.

Brazil is Hungary’s second largest economic partner in South America,

Szijjártó said, with trade reaching 430 million dollars annually. Some 50 Hungarian companies operate in the country in high value-added sectors, he added. Szijjártó noted that roughly one-third of Brazil’s GDP is generated in Sao Paulo.

Szijjártó said several agreements have been reached to facilitate food exports and the introduction of Hungarian water management technologies in Brazil. The minister welcomed that a Hungarian company could get a contract to supply all Brazilian McDonald’s restaurants with cheese products. He added that

Hungarian companies wishing to partake in Brazilian wastewater treatment projects have received 165 million forints (EUR 495,000) in funding.

Hungary has an interest in the fastest possible implementation of a free trade agreement between the European Union and South America’s Mercosur trading bloc, Szijjártó said, noting that the deal could provide new export opportunities to Hungarian businesses in the South American market.