The agreement is an expansion of already existing cooperation between the countries, the state secretary noted. Over 2,000 Iranian students currently study in Hungary, he noted. To further boost ties, the Iranian and Hungarian governments agreed earlier to offer 100 state financed university places each for Hungarian and Iranian students, respectively, Palkovics noted.

The Hungarian government aims to foster an international university culture in Hungary by raising the ratio of foreign students in the country, Palkovics said. In 2017, 11 percent of all students were foreigners, a rise from 6 percent in 2014, he said.

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