Bangladesh and Hungary embarked on a new relation on Thursday following the first-ever visit of a foreign minister from this central European country.
Peter Szijjarto held a bilateral talk with his counterpart Dr AK Abdul Momen during the day long visit and both sides agreed to enhance cooperation in the field of nuclear energy, health, education and skilled training.
Two instruments- Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in the Field of Diplomatic Training and the Exchange of Information and Documentation between the two Foreign Ministries and Joint Communiqué on the outcome of the bilateral meeting between the two Foreign Ministers were signed.
Peter Szijjarto also met Commerce Minister Tipu Munshi and agreed to constitute a joint trade commission (JTC) soon to explore the opportunities of cooperation in the fields of trade and economy and other priority areas.
The visiting minister also promised to stand by Bangladesh for the safe return of Rohingyas to their place of origin in Myanmar’s Rakhine State.
He also announced plans to open a consulate in Dhaka to facilitate travel and trade between the countries.
Dr Momen thanked him for the visit and said he showed “courage and conviction” to visit another country during the pandemic.
The Hungarian foreign minister said it’s his “honour to be the first foreign minister of Hungary to visit Bangladesh”.
He said the visit of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in Budapest in November 2016 has had a “huge impetus to enhance our bilateral relations”.
“Back in 2010, our government announced a political strategy for the eastern opening. We put into consideration that Bangladesh is the country which performed the highest growth rate throughout the last year, and put into consideration that this is the most populous country on the earth. We can have mutually beneficial cooperation,” he said, about his visit.
During the meeting, both sides agreed to cooperate in the field of nuclear energy particularly on education and training of nuclear engineers and experts as Bangladesh is building the first nuclear power plant and Hungary is building the second one after its first nuclear energy in the early 1980s.
For this education and training, the Hungarian foreign minister said they have increased the number of scholarships from Bangladesh to 130 from 100. The new 30 scholarships will be offered to students want to study nuclear energy.
Second area of cooperation is technological cooperation in the field of medical science following the first successful separate of a Bangladeshi Siamese twin by Hungary doctors last year.
Third area of cooperation is water management. “We have agreed that we’ll facilitate the cooperation between the Budapest water company and the Dhaka water company,” said the visiting minister.
In order to be successful in economic cooperation, he said they will work on fulfilling certain preconditions. First, Hungarian Exim Bank has opened the $210 million credit line to facilitate Hungary and Bangladesh business to business cooperation.
Besides, he said, they would start discussion soon to avoid double taxation in trade.
“We support the candidature of Bangladesh to the UN Human Rights Council. We respect the commitment of Bangladesh to fight against terrorism to fight against extremism,” he said.
He has also given support to the Catholic Church in Dhaka for building houses for the poor Christian families.
He also gifted a football signed by Ferenc Puskás, legendary Hungarian footballer.
Foreign Minister Dr Momen said the visit has created a breakthrough.
“We the visit we got a new friend,” he said, adding that: “We have invited the Prime Minister of Hungary to visit to Bangladesh”.
The Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade arrived in Dhaka early Thursday by a chartered flight.
Foreign Secretary Masud Bin Momen received him at the Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport.
The Hungarian Foreign Minister visited the Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Memorial Museum and paid tributes to the memories of the Father of the Nation and his family members who were brutally killed in 1975.
Hungary supported the cause of Bangladesh during the war of liberation and was one of the first countries to accord recognition.
The diplomatic relations were established as early as 29 January 1972. As a gesture of cordial and friendly relations, Hungary established her resident Mission in Dhaka in 1973. It existed until the year 1997.
The relations which could be further strengthened in the field of economy, technology and culture did not materialize after the mid 80’s mainly due to the end of cold war and also less exchange of high level political visits, according to the Bangladesh mission in Austria which is also accredited to Hungary.
The relations took a new turn after the visit of Prime Minister Hasina in November 2016 to attend the water summit at Budapest.
