Trade turnover between the two countries increased by 74 percent last year, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó announced on Thursday in Quito. At a joint press conference with Ecuadorian Deputy Foreign Minister Luis Vayas Valdivieso, the head of the ministry emphasized that the world is facing serious difficulties today, and that countries with the broadest partnerships can deal with these crises most successfully.
Péter Szijjártó praised Hungarian-Ecuadorian relations and called the reopening of the embassy in Quito eight years ago a correct decision.
"We are proud that more than 170 Ecuadorian students are studying in Hungary. We are proud that Hungarian companies are also active in the food industry, food safety, and water management in Ecuador," he stated. "And we are also proud of the fact that we were able to increase our commercial turnover by 74 percent last year," he added.
Péter Szijjártó said that a bilateral defense and hydrocarbon industry cooperation agreement was signed during the day.
"We agreed to connect our crisis management and prevention capacities in order to be able to prevent the outbreak of new armed conflicts in different parts of the world," he emphasized.
He then pointed out that the deterioration of security conditions has always been one of the primary causes of migration waves.
Finally, the minister explained the cooperation agreement for the hydrocarbon industry and announced that Ecuador will be able to use Hungarian technology in order to improve the efficiency of crude oil extraction.
He also reported that if the transit of crude oil to Ukraine were to stop, the government would take into account the fact that Ecuador is one of the most important crude oil producing countries in the Latin American region as an emergency solution.
Luis Vayas Valdivieso thanked Hungary and personally Péter Szijjártó for the fact that our country was the biggest supporter of Ecuador's Schengen visa exemption in the European Union.
He also expressed his gratitude for the fact that the Hungarian government helped the Ecuadorian citizens escape when the war in Ukraine broke out.
He stated that Ecuador views Hungary as one of the gateways to Central and Eastern Europe from the point of view of goods exports, and wishes to further develop bilateral cooperation.
He also informed that they had a fruitful discussion on regional and global issues, and in this connection he reminded that his country was the first in Latin America to condemn the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Source: MH / MTI
Photo: Péter Szijjártó's official Facebook page
