By Caesar Vallejos
Eagle News Service
In a reception organized by the Embassy of Hungary at the Fairmont, the Philippines and the government of Hungary celebrated the 45th anniversary of the nations’ diplomatic relations last October 23, 2018.
The occasion also coincides with Hungary’s celebration of the 6nd Anniversary of the Revolution of 1956.
“The amount of mutual political, business, cultural and touristic interest between our countries is a testament to the solidity of this partnership,”His Excellency Ambassador Jozsef Bencze, said.
He also reported that since the opening of Hungarian Embassy in March 2017, key government officials including the cabinet secretaries of the Departments of Agriculture and Trade and Industry have visited Hungary, and are “expecting to organize the first meeting of Joint Economic Committee early next year.”
As part of the Embassy’s goal to provide students from the Philippines with an opportunity to earn their degrees through its Stipendium Hungaricum scholarship programme, the Ambassador announced that “more than thirty Filipino students are already engaged in their long-term studies in Hungary on scholarship provided for by the Hungarian government.”
Bencze also noted that Hungarian exports and investments to the Philippines is on the up trend. “We have a steadily increasing presence in the food and beverage industry, as well as ambitious projects in the pipeline in water treatment and digital services,” the Ambassador said.
The Embassy expanded its consular presence in the country by appointing honorary consuls in Angeles City, Cebu and Davao.
Part of the embassy’s activities is the continuing efforts to bring Hungarian literature to the Philippines.
In her speech, Assistant Secretary Amelita C. Aquino of the Office of the European Affairs of the Department of Foreign Affairs said that the one of the first foreign secretaries that the new DFA Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr met was Hungarian Foreign Affairs and Trade Minister Péter Szijjártó at the Asia-Europe meeting.
ASEC Aquino said that this signifies better bilateral relations between the two countries. The bilateral meeting between the foreign secretaries was held at the Europa Building in Brussels, Belgium on October 19, 2018.
During the celebrations, the Assistant Secretary offered a toast to the greater prosperity of the people and government of Hungry, and to the growing friendship and cooperation of the Philippines and Hungary.
