“Hungarian enterprises signed contracts worth a total of 37.6 million US Dollars on Monday in Indonesia”, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó told the Hungarian press from Jakarta.
The Minister, who is on a visit to the Southeast Asian country as part of a delegation headed by Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, highlighted the USD 36 million agreement concluded by Budapest Waterworks, according to which it will be constructing and/or renovating the water purification and management systems of 34 Indonesian settlements.
Business opportunities for Hungary’s leading water management company could expand even further in view of the fact that it has also signed an agreement with Jakarta’s waterworks to jointly assess requirements for modernising water management in the Indonesian capital, and if further operations are required, Budapest Waterworks will be in an extremely favourable position compared to other possible applicants, he continued.
Mr. Szijjártó also announced that Hungarian IT enterprises will be performing USD 1.6 million in improvements for several large Indonesian IT companies.
Another piece of good news is that Hungarian company Cellum’s mobile payment apps will be running on phones made by by Indonesia’s largest mobile phone producer from this summer, he added.
The Minister also announced that Eximbank is providing a credit line of 200 million euros for the development of cooperation between Hungarian and Indonesian enterprises.
Mr. Szijjártó also reported on the bilateral negotiations he has held so far in Jakarta. Hungary’s chief diplomat held meetings with Minster of Foreign Affairs Retno Marsudi and with the Ministers of Public Services, Housing and Trade.
Mr. Szijjártó stressed that despite the large distance involved, Indonesia is an important partner to Hungary in view of the fact that the Southeast Asian country understands full well the importance of international peacekeeping, the fight against terrorism and the steps taken to handle immigration.
Several cooperation agreements have been concluded between Hungary and Indonesia, for instance both countries are mutually supporting each other’s membership in the UN Human Rights Council, he continued, adding that Hungary is apply for membership of the body for the period 2017-2019.
The Minister also spoke about the expansion of foreign affairs cooperation, including an agreement on the mutual training of diplomats.
Indonesia and Hungary could constitute two important pillars of cooperation between the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the European Union, Mr. Szijjártó stated, with relation to which he stressed that it is important for the EU to develop strategically important relations with external partners in the interests of bolstering the economy.