Hungary signs an economic cooperation agreement with the UAE aimed at stimulating trade and investment flows between the two countries in Budapest this month.
Byline Ahmed Al-Nuaimi Bassam, Abdul Samie & Dina Omar
Minister of State for Foreign Trade His Excellency Dr. Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi and His Excellency Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade of Hungary Peter Serrato, in the presence of UAE Ambassador to Hungary His Excellency Saud Hamad Ghanem Al Shamsi signed an economic cooperation agreement in Budapest in March.
Commenting on the agreement, HE Al Zeyoudi says that the UAE and Hungary are linked by a common vision to achieve sustainable economic growth by stimulating trade and investment flows and providing a platform to strengthen partnerships in the private sector.
“This agreement aims to explore more opportunities for constructive cooperation between the two sides, with a focus on new and emerging sectors, in addition to providing all facilities and incentives for the private sector to establish or expand its businesses to other regional and global markets,” says HE Al Zeyoudi.
The agreement starts from a solid base, as intra-non-oil trade continues its upward path. 2023 saw record growth levels, an increase by 23.1% to more than AED 4.143 billion, compared to about AED 3.366 billion in 2022. Intra-oil trade by the end of 2023 increased approximately threefold compared to what it was in 2019 when it recorded about 1.5 billion dirhams.
The terms of the agreement included the formation of a joint committee to be formed after the agreement comes into full force, subject to the committee offering an appropriate institutional framework to deliver on priority projects. It will also include a mechanism to follow up the implementation of joint ventures between the two countries.
Commenting on the partnership HE Serrato says that Hungary considers the UAE a major trade partner in the Arab region.
“We look forward to upgrading bilateral relations to new levels in various development fields. The economic cooperation agreement is an important step in the process of constructive cooperation, as it sets specific frameworks and important programs for the development of bilateral cooperation in priority sectors”.
These priority sectors include Industrial, Finance and Banking, Tourism, Logistics, Major Infrastructure and Real Estate sectors. In addition, during the meeting of the third session of the Joint Economic Committee in 2022, both the UAE and Hungary agreed on a nine-pronged economic cooperation program that would include strategic planning on trade and investment, attracting talent, energising SMBs and SMEs, water resources management, renewable energy, tourism and culture, logistics, research and technology, space, and education.
One such example is the recent EUR 5 billion deal between Hungary and UAE in 2023 to redevelop a new neighborhood around the Rákosrendező railway station and the surrounding derelict industrial areas in Hungary’s capital city, Budapest.
According to a Bloomberg report, UAE-based property development firm Eagle Hills Properties will work with the Hungarian government to build state-of-the-art facilities and turn Rákosrendező into a mixed-use neighbourhood.
Hungarian media reported that the PM Viktor Orban’s Government may invest up to EUR 1 billion into the redevelopment, stressing the importance of a “flagship project” to cement trade relations, however, official figures have not yet been made public.
