Hungary aims to boost diplomatic, economic, cultural and educational cooperation with South American countries, and sees Colombia as an important partner in that process, Kövér’s press office said.

Relations between Colombia and Hungary are a pillar of Hungary’s trade policy of opening to the south, Kövér said, noting that the country’s exports to Latin America grew by 34% in 2017. Hungary plans to double the number of government grants offered to Colombian students at Hungarian universities to forty, he said.

Enrique Macías Tovar, the leader of Columbia’s congress and senate, agreed with Kövér on the importance of strong bilateral ties in education. Cooperation between the countries’ parliaments may be broadened to include tackling global challenges such as climate change, migration and the war on drugs, he added.

Kövér also met Deputy President Marta Lucía Ramírez and Foreign Minister Carlos Holmes Trujillo. Talks covered Colombia’s peace process concluding the civil war and the handling of the crisis caused by the arrival of over one million Venezuelan migrants into the country.

Trujillo asked Hungary to support efforts to handle the crisis in international forums such as the UN and the EU, and thanked Hungary for its humanitarian support, the speaker’s press office said. Kövér is heading a parliamentary delegation to Colombia, Ecuador and Peru.

MTI Photo: Gov't Press Office