Hanoi (VNA) – Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc held talks with hisHungarian counterpart Viktor Orban following a welcome ceremony in Hanoi onSeptember 25, affirming that Vietnam always treasures developing ties withtraditional friends in the Central and Eastern Europe, including Hungary as apriority partner.

Inreply, Viktor Orban stated that Hungary always considers Vietnam a prioritisedtraditional friendly partner in the region and wishes to boost all-around tieswith the country.

PMPhuc praised Hungary for considering Vietnam a priority partner in its officialdevelopment assistance (ODA) policy by granting a total preferential loan of535 million EUR, 440 million EUR of which was set within the framework agreementon financial cooperation signed in January 2017.

Hespoke highly of the signing of Memorandum of Understanding on theimplementation of the framework agreement on financial cooperation.

Onthe occasion, the Vietnamese leader thanked the Hungarian government for assistingVietnam in building Can Tho Oncology Hospital via its preferential loans.

Thetwo PMs agreed to further improve the efficiency of the Inter-Committee onEconomic Cooperation mechanism, increase trade and investment by making iteasier for the two countries’ businesses to form networking and navigate eachother’s market, especially in fields of Hungary’s strength and Vietnam’s demandsuch as the exploitation of water resources, environment protection,pharmaceuticals, animal husbandry, food processing and renewable energy.

Theyreached consensus on specific measures to reinforce links acrosseducation-training, culture-tourism, labour, health care, naturalresources-environment, national defence-security.

Thehost thanked Hungarian government for offering 200 scholarships to Vietnamesestudents each year, and suggested increasing scholarships for those majoring inhealth care, pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, and information technology.

Hostand guest lauded mutual liaison between the two countries at global andinter-regional forums. The Vietnamese PM thanked the Hungarian government forsupporting Vietnam’s bid to run for a seat at the United Nations SecurityCouncil for the 2020-2021 tenure and welcomed Hungary’s active role in theAsia-Europe Meeting and the Mekong-Danube cooperation mechanism.

Hungarysupports Vietnam in enhancing ties with the European Union, including the earlysigning and ratification of the European Union – Vietnam Free Trade Agreement,he said.

Inthe East Sea issue, they underscored the need to deal with disputes by peacefulmeans in accordance with international law.

TheHungarian PM committed all possible support to Vietnamese nationals living inthe country, thus making it easier for them to serve as a bridge for bilateralfriendship and collaboration.

Followingthe talks, the two PMs hosted a press conference, issued a joint statement andwitnessed the signing of cooperation agreements on finance, culture, education,agriculture, labour, information technology and communications, and a twiningagreement between the Mekong Delta city of Can Tho and a Hungarian city.-VNA