1. At the invitation of the Prime Minister of the
2. Prime Minister was accompanied by Mrs. Medgyessy and Minister of Economy and Transport and Deputy Ministers of Foreign affairs, Information and Communication, Prime Ministers Office, Interior, Defence, Culture, Education etc. A large Business and media delegation accompanied the Hungarian Prime Minister.
3. Following a ceremonial reception at the Rashtrapathi
Bhavan, the Prime Minister of Hungary laid a wreath at Mahatma Gandhi's
Samadhi. Apart from
4.. During the visit, Mr. Medgyessy called on President of the Republic of India Dr. Abdul Kalam and Prime Minister, Mr. Atal Bihari Vajpayee. He also had meetings with Hon'ble Speaker, Lok Sabha, shri Mahohar Joshi and Deputy Prime Minister Shri L.K. Advani, and the Leader of the Opposition, Lok Sabha Mrs. Sonia Gandhi.
5. The two sides held extensive talks in an atmosphere of
friendship and understanding during which they covered the entire gamut of
bilateral relations and also held a detailed exchange of views on regional and
international issues of mutual interest, including international terrorism,
6. Both sides expressed satisfaction over the progressive growth of Indo-Hungarian relationship, which is marked by strong cultural affinity and understanding. They agreed to keep up the momentum of exchanging high-level political visits in future.
7. In the presence of the two Prime Ministers, both sides signed (i) the Bilateral Investment Promotion and Protection Agreement, (ii) Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement, (iii) Agreement on Defence Cooperation, (iv) MoU on Cooperation in Information Technology and Services, (v) Cultural Exchange Programme and (vi) Educational Exchange Programme. These agreements provide necessary framework for enhancing trade and commercial relations and enable both sides to further promote cultural and educational links between the two countries.
8. The two sides noted the importance of Inter-Parliamentary cooperation and expressed satisfaction over the level of cooperation. They called for the intensification of interaction of bilateral parliamentary exchanges.
9. The two sides, after taking into account the untapped potential for bilateral cooperation, considered the ways for deepening mutually beneficial cooperation in areas of common interest, especially in trade and investment. The two sides discussed the possibility of bilateral investments and took note of the need to enhance the potential for such cooperation. It was also noted that the business and scientific circles of both the countries should intensify direct contacts for the implementation of industrial, scientific and technical projects with the participation of Indian and Hungarian businessmen.
10. In this context, the two sides reiterated the importance of the Indo-Hungarian Joint Commission and the Indo-Hungarian Joint Business Council and other institutional mechanisms for the development of bilateral ties. They identified automobile, IT, engineering goods, oil, pharmaceuticals and power as promising areas of focus.
11. On the evolving situation in
12. The two sides reaffirmed the need to uphold the principles of International Law, and the provisions of the UN Charter in regard to international relations. Both the sides underlined the importance of expanding the United Nations Security Council in order to make it more representative and effective.
Taking into consideration the reputation
13. Both sides condemned all forms of terrorism, which threatens international peace and security. They reiterated that terrorism cannot be justified on any grounds, whether political, ethnic, religious, or any other. All states must refrain from providing any form of support active or passive, to entities or persons involved in terrorist acts. In this regard, both sides stressed the importance of the effective implementation of Security Council Resolution 1373 and 1456.
14. In the context of Indo-Pakistan relations,
15. Prime Minister Medgyessy expressed sincere gratitude to
the Prime Minister and the Government of the