Hungary to Promote Connectivity During Council Presidency
Image by Alexandros Michailidis / Shutterstock.com
Hungary wants to take steps to advance connectivity when it takes the revolving presidency of the Council of the European Union in the second half of 2024, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó said after the EU-Indo Pacific Ministerial Forum held ahead of an EU-ASEAN ministerial meeting in Brussels on Friday, state news wire MTI reports.
Hungary wants to accelerate free trade talks with the countries of Southeast Asia, with Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, and the Philippines, Szijjártó said.
While Europeans were occupied with "outdated, ideological debates", countries in Southeast Asia were establishing the world's biggest free trade zone, he added, referring to the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) free trade agreement among the Asia-Pacific nations.
It would be in the EU's interest to form the "closest cooperation possible" with the RCEP countries, whose economies account for around 29% of global GDP, he said.
He warned that nobody would enter a free trade agreement with the EU if the aim was to "lecture" partners "politically and ideologically".
In the past 10 years, Hungary's trade with countries in Southeast Asia has climbed around 75%, he said. "Hungary is proof that East-West cooperation can yield enormous benefits," he added.
Low Housing Construction Activity in Q1
CEETRA Celebrates Regional Brands in Budapest
SUPPORT THE BUDAPEST BUSINESS JOURNAL
Producing journalism that is worthy of the name is a costly business. For 27 years, the publishers, editors and reporters of the Budapest Business Journal have striven to bring you business news that works, information that you can trust, that is factual, accurate and presented without fear or favor.
Newspaper organizations across the globe have struggled to find a business model that allows them to continue to excel, without compromising their ability to perform. Most recently, some have experimented with the idea of involving their most important stakeholders, their readers.
We would like to offer that same opportunity to our readers. We would like to invite you to help us deliver the quality business journalism you require. Hit our Support the BBJ button and you can choose the how much and how often you send us your contributions.
