"We reopened our embassy in Kuala Lumpur and set up a regional trade representation in order to maximise investments from Malaysia and boost Hungarian exports there.”

Szijjártó said the talks with Aman touched on several areas that make cooperation between the two countries necessary. Shared goals include the fight against terrorism and Islamic State.

Even though Malaysia is geographically far from the Middle East, it is used as an important transit state by Islamic State, and fighters are being recruited there. Kuala Lumpur has introduced considerable restrictions in its legal system to help the fight against terrorism, he added.

The ministers also discussed the role of regional economic and trade integration in the global economy. Szijjártó said Malaysia is a very active participant in international and regional economic and trade integrations. Europe should not fall behind in the competition, he said.

“I confirmed our dedication to supporting the free trade agreement between the EU and Malaysia and between the EU and ASEAN countries,” he said.

He added that four areas were identified where Hungarian exports could be increased to Malaysia and ASEAN countries, such as premium-quality food, innovative environmental-industrial technologies, health industry products, and IT and software development.

The ministers agreed to launch joint scholarship schemes to enable 40 Malaysian students study in Hungary, while Malaysian universities will offer places to Hungarians.

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