Today's Edition
ABU DHABI (WAM)
The United Arab Emirates and Hungary signed an economic cooperation agreement in the Hungarian capital, Budapest. The aim is to stimulate trade and investment flows between the two countries in sectors of mutual interest.
UAE's Minister of State for Foreign Trade, Dr. Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, and Hungary's Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Péter Szijjártó, signed the agreement.
Notably, the UAE’s Ambassador to Hungary, Saud Hamad Al-Shamsi, was present at the signing ceremony.
The aims of the UAE-Hungary economic cooperation agreement is to deepen bilateral ties between the two countries and drive mutual growth across key sectors. These sectors include industry, commerce, investment, tourism, logistics, infrastructure, and real estate.
Another goal is to boost non-oil trade, which has seen a significant increase in recent years, including 2023, when non-oil trade increased by 23.1 percent to over US$1.127 billion — a threefold rise from $409 million in 2019.
Al Zeyoudi said the agreement sets the stage for increased trade and investment by leveraging the two nations’ combined economic potential.
“The UAE and Hungary’s economic ties continue to strengthen, building on our shared objective of achieving sustainable economic growth by stimulating trade and investment flows between our two friendly nations. We are creating opportunities for our private sectors to increase collaboration and build partnerships in various areas that will be pivotal to economic diversification, while also facilitating and incentivising future-focused private enterprises and emerging industries to grow within and beyond our borders,” he elaborated.
Szijjártó commented, “The United Arab Emirates is a principal trade partner in the Arab region for Hungary, and we look forward to elevating our bilateral relations to new heights across various developmental fields with today’s signing."
"The economic cooperation agreement is a significant step in our journey of constructive collaboration, as it establishes specific frameworks and vital programs for developing bilateral cooperation in priority sectors. This will enhance our bilateral partnership in the coming years, leading to more diverse, robust, and sustainable economic and commercial relations,” he continued.
A joint committee will be established to facilitate and oversee economic engagement between the two countries, as per the signed agreement. It will develop mutually beneficial programmes and initiatives in line with the agreement, while also establishing a mechanism to oversee their successful implementation.
This development builds on the cooperation programme agreed between the two countries in 2022, which prioritised nine key sectors. The include trade, investment, talent attraction and small and medium-sized enterprises, water resource management, energy and renewable energy, tourism and culture, logistics and supply, research and technology, space, and education.
