Hungary signed an economic cooperation agreement with Malaysia on Friday. The agreement was signed by Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó and Malaysia’s Minister of International Trade and Industry Darell Leiking in Budapest.
Szijjártó said Malaysia is one of the main players in its region: it has a fast-growing economy and is becoming more attractive as a target for investment. He noted that Hungary and Malaysia are celebrating the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between their countries this year. Bilateral ties are characterised by mutual respect and both countries will “seek further benefits from this cooperation”, he added.
The minister said that the turnover of bilateral trade reached 580 million dollars last year, and added that turnover had increased by 13% in the first nine months of 2019. He said that agricultural and food products had an important role in bilateral trade, and noted that the licensing process to allow the export of further products such as poultry, beef and rabbit was in its final phase.
In another development, Szijjártó said that the Hungarian government “firmly supports and expects” that the European Commission should re-start free trade talks with Malaysia. Hungary is one of 35 countries that are able to produce exports worth over an annual 100 billion euros, and as such, it is “fundamentally interested” in having unobstructed trade between the EU and Malaysia, the minister insisted.
MTI
