Despite being brief, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade of Hungary Péter Szijjártó’s official visit to the Maldives has definitely given renewed momentum to the four-decade old bilateral friendship between the two countries, says Minister of Foreign Affairs Abdulla Shahid.
The minister said this in his statement at the Joint Press Conference hosted on Wednesday as part of the Hungarian FM’s brief visit to the archipelago nation.
Highlighting that the Hungarian FM’s visit is a historic one, marking the first high-level visit from Hungary to the Maldives, FM Shahid stated that though it is a short one, it has given renewed momentum to the bilateral friendship of the two countries.
He went on to reveal that the two ministers exchanged views on several thematic areas including education, economic cooperation, youth and sports, health, tourism, fisheries and agriculture, and environment and climate change during the official talks on Wednesday morning.
FM Shahid expressed gratitude to the Hungarian minister for his commitment to support the development priorities of Maldives especially in the health sector.
Three key agreements were also signed during the visit.
Among these, was a key agreement on further enhancing mutual collaboration on development priorities. This agreement is intended to facilitate cooperation in important areas of development and provide a framework to promote business linkages and improve trade between our countries. A joint commission will also be established under this agreement, to review and discuss ongoing projects and potential cooperation areas.”Abdulla Shahid, Foreign Minister.
FM Shahid went on to thank Minister Szijjártó for his tireless and continuous efforts to support the island nation’s bid to reduce tariff on tuna exports to the EU market.
Shedding light on the agreement on Sports Diplomacy, FM Shahid expressed confidence that the Maldives will greatly benefit from it, especially through exchange of technical skills, information, and training programmes between the two countries.
In our discussions today, we also discussed the importance of enhancing people-to-people ties and promoting our cultural values. I thank Minister Szijjártó for Hungary’s decision today, to join the VFS Visa Facilitation Centre established in Malé. With Hungary, the VFS Visa Facilitation Centre would now offer visa facilitation services for Maldivians to travel to five different countries in Europe. I also thank Minister Szijjártó for his continuous support for our efforts to obtain visa free travel for Maldivian nationals to European Union Member States.”Abdulla Shahid, Foreign Minister.
Recalling the generous and timely humanitarian assistance provided by the Hungarian government together with the Honorary Consul of Maldives in Hungary, Radu Morar and Honorary Consul General of Hungary in Maldives, Mohamed Ali Janah in facilitating a safe passage for Maldivian students to travel out of Ukraine in March 2022, FM Shahid thanked his Hungarian counterpart for his personal commitment and response to the request.
The Maldivian minister further commended the Hungarian government for their leading role in ensuring necessary humanitarian assistance during the ongoing conflict in Europe.
Minister Szijjártó and I have met on several occasions in the past, most of them were in New York during my Presidency at the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA). I take this opportunity to express my heartfelt gratitude to Minister Szijjártó and the Government of Hungary for the support extended to my team and I during my time in office as PGA. I also commend the important work continued by Ambassador Kőrösi of Hungary as the current President of the UNGA. I assure you, Maldives will continue supporting the priorities of Ambassador Kőrösi and will continue to work closely with Hungary in the multilateral arena to overcome global challenges of mutual interest.”Abdulla Shahid, Foreign Minister.
In conclusion, FM Shahid thanked the Hungarian FM for accepting his invitation and undertaking the official visit to Maldives and expressed great joy in having hosted him.
FM Shahid expressed confidence that the two countries will be able to build on the constructive discussions held during the visit, and further strengthen the Maldives-Hungary relationship in the coming years.
