Government Seeks to Boost EU-Chile Economic Cooperation

Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó (L) with his Chilean counterpart Alberto van Klaveren Stork Hungary will work hard to develop economic and trade cooperation between the European Union and Chile during the its six-month Presidency of the Council of t

By: hungarytoday.hu

Jul 16 2024
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Government Seeks to Boost EU-C

Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó (L) with his Chilean counterpart Alberto van Klaveren Stork

Hungary will work hard to develop economic and trade cooperation between the European Union and Chile during the its six-month Presidency of the Council of the EU, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó said in Santiago de Chile on Monday.

Speaking ahead of a meeting with his Chilean counterpart Alberto van Klaveren Stork, the minister noted that the European Union has lost a lot of its competitiveness in recent times. “There are several reasons for this. On the one hand, there is the war in Ukraine and its completely mismanaged handling, the sanctions, the rise in energy prices.” On the other hand, “the European Union, or at least the bureaucrats in Brussels, in many cases over-politicize and over-ideologize even economic and trade cooperation issues,” he said.

This, he added, is constantly narrowing the EU’s external economic and trade relations.

If the bureaucrats get too involved in European trade agreements, after a while the EU member states will trade only with themselves, which is practically total economic suicide,”

he warned.

The minister stressed that during the Hungarian EU presidency they would therefore work hard to improve the Community’s external economic and trade relations. He underlined that Chile is one of the most deeply integrated countries in the world economy, having been able to conclude free trade agreements with thirty countries and integrations in the last eight years. He said that

Hungary would strive in the next six months to complete the ratification of the so-called Advanced Framework Agreement between the EU and Chile this year, thus giving a major boost to the development of relations.

The issue of the ratification of the EU-Chile Advanced Framework Agreement will be on the agenda of the autumn session of the Parliament.

The Hungarian foreign minister announced that the government itself also wants to develop cooperation between the two countries in the fields of trade, health, pharmaceuticals, education and environmental protection. In his statement, he stressed that both Hungary and Chile have benefited a lot from international investment, and that it is therefore in their common interest to ensure that these investments are free of barriers. “The Hungarian healthcare industry, i.e. medical equipment and certain pharmaceutical products, are also market leaders in Chile. Richter and 77 Elektronika also have a very strong presence in Chile, but now there are also major opportunities for cooperation in new sectors, such as printing industry,” he said.

The minister pointed out that nine universities in Hungary cooperate with Chilean partner institutions and that Hungary receives fifteen students from the South American country on scholarships every year.

Perhaps most importantly, a cooperation has been established between Semmelweis University and the Faculty of Health of the Catholic University of Pápa, whereby conductors will be trained in Chile according to the Pető method,”

he said. “The establishment and operation of a Pető Institute in Chile is a medium-term goal, and the most important basic steps have already been taken, and today we will continue to make progress here,” he added.

Finally, he also emphasized that climate change is also significantly affecting the Andean wildlife, and that extensive environmental research is being carried out under the leadership of Hungarian experts.

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