Hungary/Iran – On 17 November in Budapest, Hungarian Foreign Affairs and Trade Minister Péter Szijjártó received Iran’s Minister of Economy and Finance, Seyed Ehsan Khandouzi, on the occasion of the second meeting of the Hungarian–Iranian Joint Economic Committee. The two ministers discussed ways to strengthen economic cooperation between their two countries.
Just before the meeting, Szijjártó wrote on his Facebook account:
“There are many problems in the world, and in recent days we have seen how easily conflicts can get out of hand.
The way to reduce the threat to global security is to put an end to as many conflicts as possible.
If Iran could be reintegrated into the system of international cooperation, we would take a big step forward in the stability of the whole situation in the Middle East. ”
At the end of his meeting, Szijjártó went on to explain that international relations “require common sense and a pragmatic attitude”:
“We have a common sense policy and a pragmatic attitude when working to develop economic cooperation between Hungary and Iran. (…)
We want Iran to be able to return to a system of peaceful cooperation within the international community as soon as possible,
and since the world economy is now facing serious challenges, we believe that the economy could perhaps be the first step in that return.”
The volume of Hungarian–Iranian bilateral trade increased by 45% last year and has increased a further 55% since the beginning of this year, with Hungary’s exports to Iran consisting mainly of textile and pharmaceutical products. Moreover, some 2000 Iranian students attend Hungarian universities and pay for their studies.
