ECONOMIC and trade relations between Hungary and the Philippines particularly in the fields of food industry, agriculture, and water management is expected to develop with the visit of Hungarian Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade in Davao City last Monday, March 27.
Peter Szijjarto, Hungarian Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, met with President Rodrigo Duterte on Monday and discussed the enhancement of the bilateral cooperation of the two countries.
“I told the president that we are very open to upgrade our bilateral economic and trade relationship. We hope that the Hungarian companies, who are representing world-class quality, will have the chance to expand their presence here. He showed openness towards that and I told them that we are absolutely open for the Filipino investments in Hungary,” said Szijjarto.
Being a modern agriculture country, he said their agricultural technologies particularly in harvesting, husbandry, and in modernizing feeding system can be of help to the Philippines’ desire to modernize and automatize the Filipino agriculture. Szijjarto assured that they have very solid and stable agricultural bases. He also mentioned that there had been existing exports of fruits and vegetables from the Philippines to Hungary.
“We have been in long negotiations about launching the export of Hungarian food to the Philippines. Now we are hopefully off the negotiations for four Hungarian food processing companies to give the license to export their food products to the Philippines,” he added.
Aside from the food being exported from and imported between the two countries, parts and accessories of machineries had also been the top commodity in 2015. On Tuesday, March 28, he met with six Filipino companies who were looking for investment opportunities in Europe and the agreement on economic cooperation was signed which he expects to result in joint economic commission with the Philippines.
Szijjarto also said they are interested in providing better water management solutions and technologies after poor drainage access had caused inconvenience and water-related catastrophes in the country. This world-class water technology that they are presenting had also been presented to other Asian countries like Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Cambodia, and Vietnam.
“We would be ready to offer water management solutions and technologies and know-hows because we understand that 25 percent of the people here don’t have access to the drain system. We understand that there are at least 10 percent water-related natural catastrophes happening here and we understand that water pollution is an issue here so we’re putting these three factors together. We understand that Hungarian water management solutions and technologies could be of assistance to you,” he said.
The Hungarian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade oversees Hungary’s Official Development Assistance programs and just recently, they considered an ODA for the Philippines focusing on water treatment including those in post-disaster situations.
