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Hungary and India may have figured relatively low on each other'seconomic and strategic radar till now, but the Hungarian side ishoping the forthcoming visit to New Delhi by its Prime MinisterVictor Orban will help reset the bilateral relationship andrevitalise trade and investments. Speaking about the visit, Hungarian Minister for Foreign AffairsJanos Martonyi recently said in an exclusive interview to The Hindu that Mr. Orban's visit later this year should be seen as a part ofHungary's new foreign policy of "going global". "In the last 20 years, Hungary was absorbed by the region;our basic objective was to integrate with the Westernalliance… now it is time to look beyond our regionalborders," said Mr. Martonyi. Mr. Orban is expected to visit New Delhi, with a message that hiscountry is ready to forge alliances with a country it shares"deep rooted cultural ties" with. Historically, Hungary and India have enjoyed close and friendlyrelations since the establishment of diplomatic relations in 1948.The Hungarian people remember India's role in the 1956 Uprising intheir country; how India's intervention with the then Soviet Unionsaved the life of Dr. Arpad Goncz who subsequently served asPresident of Hungary from 1990 to 2000. The visit, the dates of which are yet to be finalised, will come ata time when India and the European Union, of which Hungary is amember since 2004, are negotiating a Free Trade Agreement. AndHungary, keen to tap the "growing Indian market", isonly too happy to cooperate. Mr. Martonyi said if India were to open its market for Hungarianwines, it would give a tremendous boost to the industry. The Hungarian exports have hitherto been confined to hightechnology, industrial products, automobiles, telecom and IT, butMr. Orban's government is keen for developing exports inagricultural and food products and services, too. India, Mr. Martonyi explained, holds promise as a potential marketfor Hungarian goods and services. "Contacts [are] beingintensified and we hope in the next one or two years the figures oftrade and investment will be higher," he noted, adding thatPrime Minister Orban's visit will be preceded by that of theSpeaker of Hungarian Parliament, L szl K v r. Indian companies have invested $1.3 billion in Hungary, but thereis scope for more. "This is also the purpose of the high-level visits, which arenow in preparation, to attract more Indians to come to Hungary. Wehave a fairly central position in this part of Europe and we have awell developed structure and [we] are economically stable. Despiteall the rumours in the media, we are one of a few Europeancountries where deficit is under 3 per cent," he pointed out. Eager to engage more with India on a bilateral level, Mr Martonyisaid: "Hungary is in a new phase and has a new approach; ithas a new priority for foreign policy. In the present stage oftrade and investment, India now has tremendous potential. Tradeshould be much more, given the size of India and the exportpotential and capacity of Hungary". The Minister said Hungary is keenly watching the ongoingnegotiations between the European Union and India on the FTA, andwants the negotiations to be completed soon. "Given the fact that India is one of the most importantstrategic partners of the EU, we think that this could be a verywelcome development, if the negotiations could be completed andsigned and ratified. EU-India relationship is more complex. Indiais the largest democracy in the world ... we have fundamental,global interests in common, like security and many other areas.Hungary is interested in the early conclusion of the negotiations,because we believe India's market would give us tremendouspossibilities. We want to see how far and to what extent India willbe willing to open its market for services." The Minister said a scholarship exclusively for youngsters from"developing countries" would soon be announced and heexpressed the hope that it would benefit Indian as well as Asianstudents. Hungary was also keen to increase tourism between the twocountries. On India's claim to a permanent seat in the Security Council, Mr.Martonyi said: "We have always supported India for thepermanent seat in the UN Security Council. We have been advocatingthis for years. We know is not easy, given the complexity of theambition around the world, but we just think this will be fair. Itis very simple; you can't exclude from the seat 1.3 billionpeople.". The e-commerce company in China offers quality products such as Acrylic Desk Organizer , China Acrylic Jewelry Display, and more. For more , please visit Acrylic Product Display today!
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