Key agreements have been signed between the governments of Maldives and Hungary to further strengthen the existing bilateral relations between the two countries.

The agreements were signed as part of Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade of Hungary, Péter Szijjártó’s official visit to the Maldives.

His visit came upon the official invitation of the Maldivian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Abdulla Shahid.

This is the first official visit from a Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade of Hungary which in turn marks an important milestone in the 47-year-long bilateral relationship between the two countries.

Signed on Wednesday were a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Economic Cooperation, an MoU on Higher Education and an MoU on Sports Diplomacy.

The MoU on Economic Cooperation mirrors the importance of enhancing trade and investment between the two countries and will promote business linkages, exchange of expertise and convene seminars between Maldives and Hungary. A Joint Economic Commission comprising of officials and experts from both the countries will also be established to guide the development of projects, activities and programmes related to the agreement.

Further, the MoU on Higher Education was signed on cooperation in the field of higher education, between the Minister of Higher Education of the Maldives, Dr. Ibrahim Hassan, and Minister Szijjártó. This is an additional protocol to the MoU concluded between the Maldives and Hungary in 2021 regarding the Stipendium Hungaricum scholarship programme. The additional protocol to the existing MoU will provide a total of 25 scholarships annually which is an increase of 10 scholarships from the previous 15, to Maldivian students to study bachelors, masters and doctoral level courses from Universities in Hungary.

The third MoU, on Sports Diplomacy was signed between the Minister of Youth, Sports and Community Empowerment of the Maldives, Ahmed Mahloof and Minister Szijjártó with an interest to establish and develop close cooperation in the sports sector. The MoU will facilitate organization of sports events, exchange of expertise in sports infrastructure and provide training opportunities.

Further, during the signing ceremony, the Hungarian minister announced the Hungarian government’s decision to join the VFS Visa facilitation Centre in Malé City and to commence operations in November 2022.

Expressing appreciation for this decision, FM Shahid reiterated the Maldivian government’s interest to obtain visa-free status for Maldivian nationals traveling to European Union member states.

During the visit to Maldives, the Hungarian Minister was accompanied by an official delegation from the Hungarian government.

He paid a courtesy call on President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih and held official talks with his Maldivian counterpart. He also met with the Minister of Economic Development, Fayyaz Ismail and the Minister of Higher Education, Dr. Ibrahim Hassan.

During the official talks with the Maldivian minister, both ministers explored avenues to enhance cooperation particularly in the fields of trade, health, education, youth and sports, fisheries, tourism, environment, and climate change.

The official talks also saw FM Shahid expressing appreciation for the support provided by the Government of Hungary during his presidency at the 76th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA).

FM Shahid also reaffirmed the support of the Maldivian government to Ambassador Csaba Kőrösi as the President of the 77th UNGA session.

The Hungarian minister in turn congratulated the Maldives on being elected to the United Nations Human Rights Council for the term 2023-2025.

He expressed commitment to enhance engagement within the multilateral sphere to combat global challenges of mutual interest.

Shedding light on regional and international issues of mutual importance, FM Shahid expressed appreciation to the Hungarian government for their assistance in facilitating safe passage for Maldivian students in Ukraine in March 2022 and applauded the Hungarian government for their key role in providing the necessary humanitarian assistance regarding the ongoing conflict in Europe.