Jaishankar further shared his delight and reaffirmed the commitment to strengthening India-Hungary bonds of friendship….reports Asian Lite News
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar extended his greetings to Hungary’s Foreign Affairs Minister Peter Szijjarto, the government and the people of Hungary on their National Day on Sunday.
Jaishankar further shared his delight and reaffirmed the commitment to strengthening India-Hungary bonds of friendship.
Taking to his social media handle in ‘X’, formerly known as Twitter, Jaishankar stated, “Warm greetings to FM Peter Szijjarto and the Government and the people of Hungary on their National Day. In this 75th year of diplomatic relations, reaffirm our commitment to deepen bonds of friendship.”
According to the Ministry of External Affairs, India and Hungary have enjoyed close and friendly relations since the establishment of diplomatic relations in 1948. The relationship has been substantive and multifaceted. Hungarians are extremely grateful to India for India’s role in the 1956 Uprising in Hungary.
Since 1990, India and Hungary have signed several Agreements that have contributed to further intensification of bilateral relationship. These include: Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement, Bilateral Investment Protection and Promotion Agreement, Social Security Agreement, Agreements on Cooperation in Health, Agriculture, IT, Science and Technology and Defence. Both countries commemorated the 50th anniversary of establishment of diplomatic relations in 1998.
The visit of Prime Minister Gyurcsany took place during the 60th anniversary of establishment of diplomatic relations in 2008.
Before changes in Hungary in 1990, India was major partner of Hungary in Asia in trade as well as economic fields, though it covered only a small proportion of international trade of Hungary. Over 25 joint ventures were established by Hungarian companies in India, according to Ministry of External Affairs.
Following the sweeping changes of 1990’s, rapid privatization of the economy, disappearance of traditional markets and influx of ‘Western’ investments resulted in dissolution of old commercial links, including with India. Bilateral trade which ranged between US$ 100-200 million in the 1980s could not be sustained in the mid 1990s, according to MEA.
India-Hungary economic relations have again revived during the last few years, as both Hungary and India have both become globally integrated, the trade and investment cooperation has picked up and bilateral trade in 2011 was US $ 840 million, the MEA stated.