All the more so because it is located in Southeast Asia, the world’s fastest growing region, the minister told a joint press conference.

Szijjártó said they agreed that there was no room in international politics for double standards and for the proliferation of unilateral opinions that ignore national characteristics. It is not right for major international organisations to irresponsibly judge certain countries, he said, underlining the importance of building international ties on the basis of mutual respect.

As a UN Security Council non-permanent member in 2019-2020, Indonesia will play an important role and carry serious responsibilities, he said, noting that Hungary as a country sharing Indonesia’s commitment to fighting against international terrorism and extremism had supported its nomination for the post.

Addressing economic cooperation, Szijjártó highlighted agreements on large-scale projects in water management and energy production. He noted that GE Hungary is participating in the modernisation of Indonesia’s energy systems, a project supported with a 218 million dollar credit line by Hungary’s Eximbank.

Hungarian firms are also in talks on IT cooperation with a 460 million dollar credit line by Eximbank. Under another project, Hungarian water management companies will build a water purification plant in Indonesia with a 36 million dollar tied aid grant, Szijjártó said. He said Hungary will increase the number of scholarships granted to Indonesian students from 50 to 100.

Marsudi said Indonesia has an interest in expanding economic cooperation with Hungary identifying water management a priority area. She noted that the two countries will celebrate the 65th anniversary of their diplomatic ties next year.

MTI Photo: Máthé Zoltán