He also noted the nearly three thousand Vietnamese citizens who have completed their studies in Hungary, and the Vietnamese community in the country “comprised of honest and hard-working families”. According to strategic analysts, Vietnam is to become one of the fastest-developing countries in the next thirty years, Orbán said.

Orbán said Hungary “could be of help to Vietnam” especially in the health industry, water management, IT and food safety sectors. He noted the agreement reached on Hungary building a hospital in Vietnam.

Concerning education cooperation, Orbán said that the number of grants given annually to Vietnamese students to study in Hungary would be raised from 100 to 200 each “to ensure the future of the countries’ relations”.

Orbán said the delegation of politicians and businessmen arrived to Vietnam to “express Hungary’s respect for the country and appreciation for its economic growth”. Phuc told the press conference that Vietnam highly values its ties with Hungary and thanked for the supportive environment the Vietnamese community enjoys in the country.

The foreign ministers of the two countries signed an agreement on a comprehensive, 440 million euro tied aid programme, Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó told the press. This is the third such agreement between the two countries, Szijjártó noted. Hungary has already provided aid in implementing a water purification plant project and a regional demographic registration programme, he said.

The present programme supports 11 projects in Vietnam which are to provide Hungarian companies excellent market opportunities, he said. In the framework of the agreement, Hungary will invest 60 million euros to build a 500-bed oncology centre in the Can Tho region using an Eximbank credit line, the foreign minister said.

Agreements were also signed on cooperation in finance, agriculture and information technology.

Republished with permission of Hungary Matters, MTI’s daily newsletter.

MTI photo / PM's Press Office: Szecsődi Balázs