Doha, Qatar: Ambassador of Hungary to Qatar H E Ferenc Korom expressed his country’s welcome for Amir H H Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani’s visit to Budapest.
The Ambassador said that H H the Amir is one of the most important political leaders of the world who is an advocate of peace and stability both in the Middle East region and in the world in general.
In an exclusive statement to QNA, the Ambassador said “We are deeply honoured and pleased that H H the Amir is making a historic visit to Hungary as a Guest of Honor on August 20 which is our national day and also for visiting the 2023 World Athletics Championships which we organize from August 19 to 27 this year.”
He noted that his country is hosting the World Athletics Championships following Qatar’s hosting of the most successful FIFA World Cup in football history, as Qatar set very high standards in event management, security measures and many other fields. “This year we very much wish to follow the Qatari example and best practices in order to successfully organize the most important sport event in 2023,” the ambassador added.
“H H Amir’s visit to Hungary indicates the high level our bilateral relations have reached in the last couple of years. During the current visit, we can sign a number of agreements that create the solid basis for our cooperation in important areas and also, we can open discussions in many other areas of mutual importance.”
He stressed that relations between Hungary and Qatar have reached an unprecedented level in terms of high-level diplomatic visits on both sides, and the volume of bilateral trade exchange which has reached historic level.
During his last visit to Qatar in May, Hungarian Prime Minister expressed Budapest’s intention to raise its relationship with Doha to a strategic level which it only maintains with its most important political and economic partners, the Ambassador said.
He noted that the bilateral agreements that are currently under discussion by the sides cover such important areas as health, investment, agriculture or defense, among many others.
He underlined that his country’s top priority at the moment is to finalize the bilateral investment protection agreement which would be a significant development in the relationship between Doha and Budapest.
“While both our countries is seeking peace and stability in current affairs, we see huge potential in military education, training and the defence industry. The cooperation in these fields guarantees that we are able to maintain the desired peace and stability.”
Besides sports, education and tourism could also be areas where we can develop closer ties,” he said, adding that Hungarian universities offer world-class education programs among others in medicine, physical education, engineering and music, expressing hope that with time, more Qatari students will see these opportunities and the huge potential in the Hungarian education sector.
Regarding the volume of trade exchange between the two countries, the Ambassador indicated that the bilateral trade exchange has reached historical level, amounting to approximately $77m in 2022, but said “we are still far from exploiting all the opportunities in bilateral trade.”
The Hungarian Export Promotion Agency (HEPA) is very active and has a program to support the expansion of Hungarian companies abroad, he said, expressing hope that Qatar will become a top export destination in the future among the other important Hungarian companies thanks to this significant governmental support.
The Ambassador said that the level of Qatari investment in Hungary is significantly below potential, and that Hungary wishes to attract more Qatari capital, stressing that the signing of an investment protection agreement could give a new impetus to the investment cooperation.
“We are interested in Qatar becoming a strategic investor in Hungary, among others in the field of air transport,” He said, noting that there are important investment opportunities in the Hungarian real estate, hotel, manufacturing sectors and other fields due to the potential in the Hungarian economy.
