Saleumxay Kommasith and Peter Szijjarto exchange cooperation agreements at the signing ceremony in Vientiane on April 27, 2023. - VT
VIENTIANE (Vientiane Times/Asia News Network): Hungary will continue to provide 150 scholarships for Lao nationals to study at Hungarian universities each year, according to the Lao Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Visiting Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Peter Szijjarto made the announcement when he met Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Saleumxay Kommasith in Vientiane on Thursday (April 27).
Hundreds of Lao nationals are currently taking courses in Hungary, providing significant human resource development for Laos.
During their talks, the two ministers agreed to strengthen their friendly relations and cooperation in potential areas of development and push for progress in cooperation projects signed off by the two countries’ top leaders.
These include cooperation programmes relating to natural resources and the environment, water resource management, finance, agriculture infrastructure development, wastewater treatment, modernised population management, education, and human resource development.
In addition, the two sides agreed to identify new cooperation projects based on the potential mutual benefits for the two countries.
Last year, Laos reopened its embassy in Budapest after it was closed in 1993 shortly after the dissolution of the Soviet Union.
The reopening of the Embassy reflects the accomplishments of recent cooperation and the strong commitment of the two countries to further deepen their friendly ties as they marked the 60th anniversary of diplomatic relations in 2022.
The Lao Embassy in Budapest will be responsible for Hungary, Bosnia, Albania, Herzegovina, North Macedonia, Serbia and Montenegro.
The Lao Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a press release that Hungary is also considering opening an embassy in Laos.
The two sides agreed to continue reciprocal visits by delegations at various levels, foster people-to-people exchanges, and organise training to improve the skills of young diplomats.
The leaders of Laos and Hungary have seen the need to set up a coordination committee to facilitate the implementation of cooperation programmes agreed to by the two countries.
During the meeting, Deputy PM Saleumxay and Peter Szijjarto agreed to support one another in multilateral arenas, notably in Asean-EU and Asean-Hungary cooperation frameworks.
The Lao deputy prime minister briefed the Hungarian foreign minister on the progress made for Laos to assume the Asean chair in 2024 and asked the Hungarian side to support Laos’ Asean chairmanship.
Following their meeting, the two sides signed agreements on information exchange and the training of young diplomats.
The visit to Laos by Szijjarto aimed to broaden the longstanding friendly relations between the two countries after they established diplomatic relations on Sept 12, 1962.
The friendly ties have grown significantly since Laos and Hungary elevated their bilateral ties to a strategic partnership in 2019.
During his visit, Szijjarto called on Prime Minister Sonexay Siphandone to further discuss their cooperation.
The Hungarian foreign minister also attended a handover ceremony of the Dongbang Water Treatment Plant Phase II Expansion Project and a fish processing plant and observed the progress of a population management project.
