Péter Szijjártó: the Hungarian-Iranian agricultural cooperation agreement opens up new opportunities

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According to the ministry’s announcement, at the press conference following the meeting of the Hungarian-Iranian economic joint committee, the head of the ministry underlined that, as a result of global tensions, extensive sanctions regimes are now hindering the unobstructed functioning of world trade and the world economy. Accordingly, according to his words, the international restrictions imposed on the Persian state must also be taken into account when developing the relationship between Hungary and Iran, which make it difficult, but not impossible, to work in this direction. “The sanctions regime leaves open exactly those areas in which Hungarian companies have the world’s leading technologies (…) And this enables us to develop Hungarian-Iranian economic cooperation in the most technologically advanced Hungarian sectors,” he emphasized. He said that the value of bilateral trade exceeded 50 million dollars in 2022, despite serious security and economic challenges, and last year’s level was about the same. He called the maintenance of this volume and its continuous expansion whenever possible a common goal.

In his joint briefing with the Iranian Minister of Finance, Péter Szijjártó welcomed the entry into force of the investment protection agreement between the two countries, which provides legal security to companies

He informed that the parties will also help eliminate the obstacles standing in the way of cooperation through more active cooperation between the customs and tax authorities. He announced that the Hungarian-Iranian agricultural cooperation agreement had been signed, which could open new trade opportunities in the field of agriculture and food industry. For high-quality Hungarian agricultural technologies and food industry products, all of this can open the possibility of even more active entry into the Iranian market, he said. He pointed out that domestic pharmaceutical and medical technology products have already enjoyed considerable recognition in the Middle Eastern country, and an even wider appearance is expected in the future. Turning to water cooperation, the minister stated that one of the most basic human rights is that everyone has access to clean and healthy drinking water.

MTI