Dr. Ashwani Kumar, Minister of State for Planning, Parliamentary Affairs, Science & Technology and Earth Sciences, is presently leading a high level parliamentary delegation to Hungary.
During the visit Dr Kumar has had high level meetings with Minister for Foreign Affairs of Hungary, Dr. Janos Martonyi; Minister for National Economy, Dr. Gyorgy Matolcsy; Deputy Speaker of Hungarian National Assembly Mr. Sandor Lezsak; and the Chairman of the Hungarian-Indian Inter-Parliamentary Friendship Group, Dr. Zsolt Horvath. Referring to the growth of Indian economy, Dr. Ashwani Kumar stated that India needs over US$ 1 trillion of investments during the next 5-6 years in infrastructure sector alone. He invited Hungarian companies to participate in development of infrastructure in India. The two sides also agreed to double the level of existing trade at US$ 640 million to 1.2 billion in the next three years.The delegation also had fruitful discussions with the Deputy Speaker Mr. Sandor Lezsak and the Indo-Hungarian Friendship Group chaired by Dr. Zsolt Horvath on various aspects of functioning of parliamentary democracies. Both sides agreed to further strengthen the relationship through parliamentary exchanges on a regular basis.
The Hungarian Foreign Minister reiterated his governments’ support to India’s claim for the permanent membership in an expanded UN Security Council. Dr. Kumar expressed deep appreciation for Hungary’s support for the India-US civil nuclear Agreement at the Nuclear Suppliers Group and for expressing solidarity with India in the wake of 26/11 Mumbai terror attack. The two countries agreed to work closely for the reform of the United Nations to reflect contemporary global realities.
The Hungarian Minister for Economy in turn invited Indian companies to Hungary considering that central Europe is poised to become the hub for economic expansion in Europe. Indian investments in Hungary are estimated in the range of US$ 1 billion, employing over 7,000 people in Hungary. Dr. Kumar and the Hungarian minister for economy identified various areas of co-operation including collaboration in R&D, electronics, water and solid waste management, defence, IT and higher education. Collaboration between Bollywood and Hungarian film makers would also be explored. It was agreed to activate the fund of Euro 2 million for joint research projects in science & technology, in view of the fact that Europe 2020 vision is dedicated to competitiveness and innovation and India has declared the decade of 20’s as Decade of Innovation.
Seven distinguished Members of Parliament, representing different political parties, are accompanying Dr Ashwani Kumar on this visit. The present visit is part of an ongoing dialogue between the two countries at political level on issues of bilateral, regional and international interest.
