Deputy PM and FM Pham Binh Minh (right) receives Balogh Csaba, Minister of State at Hungary’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade. 

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh made this comment during a meeting in Hanoi on January 11 with Balogh Csaba, Minister of State at Hungary’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade.

Minh noted that he highly valued the two Governments’ efforts in speeding up the finalisation of this agreement, which is worth EUR440 million. He said the deal is a good preparation for an official visit to Vietnam slated for April by Hungarian PM Viktor Orbán.

With this framework agreement, the two sides will implement many cooperation projects in the spheres of Hungary’s strength and Vietnam’s demand such as water resources management, wastewater treatment, information technology, cyber security and health care, he noted.

He also spoke highly of cooperation mechanisms at all levels between the two countries, adding that a vice speaker of Hungary’s parliament will visit Vietnam in mid-January and his country also is ready to welcome the Hungarian PM this April.

He added bilateral trade remains low and is yet to match the countries’ potential and expectations. Hence, it is necessary to review the implementation of the minutes of the sixth session of their joint committee on economic cooperation so as to design new cooperation programmes in preparation for the seventh session, scheduled for March in Hungary.

At the meeting, the officials also acknowledged the role of Vietnamese people who were trained in Hungary in bolstering bilateral ties and mutual understanding.