Szijjarto welcomed the Russian government's support for Hungarian companies that aimed to enter the Russian market and cooperate with local partners. He added that a sign of the demand for such cooperation was shown by the representatives of the 78 companies at the forum.

He conceded that economic cooperation was "not the easiest" at the moment because of the international environment, but said that seeking Russian business partners wasn't "a political dirty word" in Hungary.

He pointed to the presence in Russia of OTP Bank, Hungary's biggest commercial lender, which made it easier for Hungarian companies to do business there, and to Hungarian oil and gas company's production operations in Russia.

He said the upgrade of Hungary's Paks nuclear power plant, by a Russian general contractor, offered opportunities for Hungarian companies, too.

He acknowledged that the physical delivery of goods, and even services, to Russia presented difficulties, but said work was underway on a solution with a regional partner that could soon give Hungarian companies an "enormous advantage".

Szijjarto said that free trade and cross-border economic cooperation was in the fundamental interest of Hungary, while initiatives to form blocs ran counter to the country's interest.

He said sanctions were doing more harm to the European Union than to Russia as economic players found ways to get around the measures.

Despite Sanctions, Prospective Oncology Cooperation Between Hungary, Russia

Hungary and Russia may launch joint research and development projects in the area of oncology, the National Institute of Oncology (OOI) said on Monday, after a visit by a Russian delegation headed by Health Minister Mikhail Murashko to Budapest.

The talks between the delegation and the Hungarian side that included Peter Takacs, the state secretary for health care, and OOI Director General Csaba Polgar focused on exploring new areas of cooperation in the areas of research, development and technological innovation, OOI said in a statement.

At the meeting, the Russian health minister briefed the hosts about his country's experiences in the use of AI in diagnosing cancer and about the development of a new software.

Takacs noted the possibility of expanding cooperation concerning Hungary's similar research projects. He called launching joint projects in innovative medicine research and medical therapy development "an important possible component".

Murashko said that Russian proton therapy-centres were ready to receive, if need be, Hungarian patients, primarily children.

Source: 
MTI - The Hungarian News Agency, founded in 1881.

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