MANILA – President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. expressed on Thursday the Philippine government’s intent to forge new partnerships with Hungary to strengthen the economic ties between the two nations.
“I’m very happy to welcome you once again to the Philippines,” President Marcos told Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade of Hungary, His Excellency Péter Szijjártó during his courtesy call at the Malacañan Palace.
“The 50th commemoration of our formal ties, and I hope that with all that is happening around the world and all of the opportunities, of course there are challenges, and all the opportunities also that is – that we’ll be able to hopefully forge new relationships,” he added.
Philippine-Hungary diplomatic relations were established on September 28, 1973.
Szijjártó previously visited Manila in 2017, where he met then acting Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) Secretary Enrique Manalo and paid a courtesy call on former president Rodrigo Duterte.
He returned to the Philippines in 2020 and met with then DFA secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr.
For his part, Szijjártó extended his gratitude to President Marcos for the warm welcome accorded to him.
“Mr. President, thank you so much for receiving me. Thank you so much for the invitation. You have great secretaries with whom I’ll be working together for a long time. This is the third occasion that I have the honor to visit your fantastic country,” Szijjártó told President Marcos.
Szijjártó said he is working closely with the DFA to further improve the vibrant relationship between the Philippines and Hungary as he stressed the great results achieved between the two countries in recent years.
Hungary has generally been supportive of the Philippines in European Union (EU) and United Nations (UN) discussions on human rights and alleged extra-judicial killings in accordance with Hungary’s policy of non-interference in the domestic affairs of other countries.
In 2023, Hungary was the Philippines’ 46th trading partner, 30th export market, and 64th import source. The country served as the second home to around 16,098 Filipinos as of December 2023.
Majority of the Filipinos are employed as automotive technicians, machine operators, drivers, forklift operators, hotel workers, farm workers, warehouse workers, logistics operators and truck drivers. | PND
