Hungary will finance the transport of ten thousand tons of grain to Africa worth about 3.5 million dollars from Ukraine as part of efforts aimed at solving the global food crisis, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó announced on Monday after receiving his Congolese counterpart in Budapest.
According to the statement of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, the head of the ministry emphasized at the joint press conference with Christophe Lutundula Apala Pen'Apala that although the geographical distance between the two countries is significant, global security threats affect both sides.
As an example, he cited the negative effects of the war in Ukraine, including the food crisis, which mostly affects Africa. He also announced that, as part of global responsibility, our country finances the transport of ten thousand tons of grain to Africa from Ukraine, worth about 3.5 million dollars.
"Both countries are interested in peace as soon as possible and the armed conflicts that are ensnaring the world coming to an end as soon as possible, so we urge the creation of the necessary dialogue, cease-fire and peace negotiations," he stated.
Péter Szijjártó then called the electric car industry and battery production an important link between Hungary and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
He pointed out that our country has the third largest electric battery production capacity in the world and will soon move to the first place following the ongoing investments. However, as he underlined, one of the most important raw materials for this is cobalt, and more than 70 percent of the cobalt used by the sector comes from the African country.
The future success of the world's electric car industry depends to a large extent on the unimpeded and continuous extraction of cobalt and its subsequent delivery to the world market, he said.
And according to his information, several Hungarian companies contribute significantly to this, as domestic construction and design companies lead the 600 million dollar infrastructure development program, which aims to connect the Democratic Republic of the Congo with Zambia and Tanzanian ports.
As a result of this large road and bridge construction program, Congolese raw materials will be able to reach the ports that are the gateway to the world market in just ten days instead of more than a month.
The preparation is already underway, part of the planning is over, the Hungarian companies have concluded the contract on the concession right, he added.
The minister then went on to say that Hungary feels a serious responsibility towards the Christian communities of the world, and that the fifth largest amount of support under the Hungary Helps program has so far gone to the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Finally, he reported that before this the Congolese foreign minister had never been on an official trip to Hungary, which underlines the importance of the fact that the two countries are celebrating the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations this year.
Source: MTI
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