Hungary is devoting greater attention to Brazil and will place its foreign policy and economic relations with the country on new foundations, Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó said after talks with Brazilian congressman Eduardo Bolsonaro in Budapest. As regards bilateral economic ties, Hungary and Brazil have agreed to focus their cooperation on farming technology, water management and the health industry, Szijjártó told a press conference he held jointly with Bolsonaro. The two countries have also agreed to bolster their research ties and Hungary will increase the number of scholarships offered to Brazilian students. Hungary at present provides scholarships to 250 Brazilian students a year, the minister noted. He said Hungary and Brazil will draw up a plan to keep Brazil’s Benedictine-run Hungarian school operating, given the significant size of Brazil’s Hungarian community.
Bilateral trade turnover is continuously on the rise and Hungary’s Eximbank has opened a 415 million dollar credit line to support partnerships between Hungarian and Brazilian companies, he added.
Brazil has recently been through significant political change, Szijjártó said, highlighting the importance of the country’s role in world politics and the global economy. Szijjártó said Hungary and Brazil’s shared positions on key political and strategic issues would provide a sound basis for the development of bilateral economic ties. The minister named migration as one such issue, noting that both countries had voted against the United Nations’ global migration compact. Both Hungary and Brazil reserve the right to decide for themselves whom they allow into their territories, Szijjártó said. Further, both countries consider the representation of Christian values to be important, he said, adding that they both considered national interests to be the number one factor when it came to foreign policy decisions. Bolsonaro, who heads the foreign affairs and defence committee of Brazil’s national congress, said his country was looking for new partners after the changes it has been through. He thanked Hungary for its support and openness to cooperating with Latin America.