Trade between Hungary and Singapore reached 1 billion dollars last year, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó said in Singapore on Wednesday, adding that trade is on the rise, with a 46 percent increase so far this year.
Singapore. Photo: Pixabay
Hungarian companies have invested 350 million dollars in the city-state, and Singaporean companies employ more than 7,000 people in Hungary, Szijjártó said, according to MTI.
Despite the great geographical distance between the two countries, everything is in place to further develop economic cooperation between Hungary and Singapore,”
he said at the Hungarian-Singaporean IT Business Forum. As a country of 10 million people without a coastline or abundant natural resources, Hungary relies on the performance of its people, Szijjártó said, underscoring the importance of the ongoing shift to a knowledge-based economy.
He also attended the largest food industry fair in Southeast Asia, where an agreement was reached on the large-scale export of Hungarian mangalica pig and pigeon meat to Singapore.
Singapore is a great opportunity for Hungarian agriculture and its food industry, he added. Last year, the value of Hungarian food exports exceeded 6 million dollars, of which meat exports amounted to more than 1 million dollars.
Tourism ties between the two countries are also improving, Szijjártó said, noting that the number of Singaporean visitors to Hungary has quadrupled so far this year compared to the same period last year.
Regarding political relations, Szijjártó said that
cooperation between Hungary and Singapore is based on mutual respect and a shared belief in the importance of national sovereignty and the rejection of external interference.
Both countries can be confident that their own citizens are “capable of deciding wisely what kind of future they want for the country,” he said, adding that they want to see a return to mutual respect in international politics while also often cooperating in international organizations. As in Singapore, Hungary’s political stability is “exceptional” in the European context, he said, adding that Singaporean businesses appreciate this, as evidenced by their growing investments in Hungary.
Featured photo via Facebook/Szijjártó Péter