Hungary-Indonesia trade turnover up 29 pc over ten years, says FM Szijjártó

The annual trade turnover between Hungary and Indonesia has risen by 29 percent over the last ten years, Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó said on Tuesday, adding that this showed that the Hungarian government’s policy of opening to the East was working.

Szijjártó, who is currently in quarantine having contracted coronavirus, told an online forum that Hungary and Indonesia had recently made progress in cooperation in the areas of water management and food processing. Hungary has opened a 36 billion forint (EUR 100.3m) credit line that will allow Hungarian companies to improve Indonesia’s water management solutions, he said.

Now the two countries are focused on improving their cooperation in the fields of cyber security and telecommunications, the minister said. Szijjártó encouraged Hungarian companies to make use of a new website, hunindotech.id, launched to boost business ties between the two countries.

Hungary’s Eximbank is prepared to provide the financial framework needed to advance cooperation between Hungarian and Indonesian firms, he said. Szijjártó encouraged Hungarian companies to be active on the Indonesian market, arguing that it was one of the largest markets in all of Southeast Asia and one of the fastest growing regions in the world.

Hungary has increased the number of scholarships it offers to Indonesian university students from an annual 50 to 100, he said.

The minister praised Indonesia’s contributions to the resolution of global affairs, noting its role in peacekeeping missions. Szijjártó noted that Hungary had supported Indonesia’s bid to become a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council.