India-Hungary
Relations
Background
Political
Economic
& Commercial
Science
& Technology
Education
& Culture
India’s relations with Hungary have been close and
friendly, multi-faceted and substantive. They have survived the vicissitudes of
political and economic changes particularly in Hungary and reorientation of
foreign policy in the post-cold war period.
Both countries commemorated the 50th year of establishment of diplomatic
relations in 1998. Hungary
is an important partner in Central Europe for India.
Indo-Hungarian relations have
always had their own intrinsic logic and raison d’étre.
Generations of eminent Hungarian Indologists laid the foundations of the great respect and
admiration Hungarians have for Indian culture, philosophy, art and intellect. Decades of Indo-Hungarian economic
interaction further sustained the relationship. Fruitful scientific and
technological interactions created further value. All of this added up to
tremendous political goodwill.
Over the years, high-level visits have
regularly taken place between India and Hungary, including that
of PM Medgyessy
to India in 2003, followed by EAM’s visit to Budapest
in Jun 2005; Culture
and Tourism Minister Mrs Ambika
Soni in Oct 2006, and FM Kinga
Goncz in November
06.
Institutional Mechanisms
between India and Hungary
include: Joint
Trade & Economic Commission at Minister level; Foreign Office
Consultations / Joint S&T Committee / Joint Defence
Committee each at Secretary level; JWGs (Joint
Working Groups) on Education and Culture at Director General Level and Joint
Business Council at Industry level.
Indian and Hungary have put
in place a legal framework for bilateral cooperation by signing wide ranging cooperation
agreements covering, inter alia, Double Taxation Avoidance, Investment
Protection and Promotion; Information Technology, Defence,
S&T, and Culture & Education.
India-Hungary bilateral Investment
relations have been showing a marked increase. India’s
biggest IT and software company Tata Consultancy Services(TCS) has set up a European
Software Development Centre(SDC) in Budapest.
Satyam Computers has opened an office in Budapest on the 2nd November 2004. It was announced in August 2006 that Satyam’s subsidiary NIPUNA would a BPO (Business Process
Outsourcing) centre in Budapest
in 2007. TELCO has a Swiss company called SWISSCAR acting as its regional
distribution centre in Budapest
for sale of its vehicles. In 2000 A Calcutta based company
M/s Mc Nally Bharat
Engineering Ltd acquired 100% of the
equity of a company in Hungary called M/s Eroterv Wagner Biro Ltd., which specialises
in handling ash in large plants. An
Indian company Technocraft Industries(
India)
Ltd has acquired Danube Knitwear Ltd. in Baja, Hungary. In August 2006, Indian
major Crompton Greaves, through their Belgian
subsidiary Pauwels Limited, acquired the Ganz
Transelektro
(GTV), in the power sector. The Thapar
group also acquired a caning firm Dunakiliti Konzeruzem in North-west
Hungary. Indian
companies in Hungary
employ more than 1000 people.
As to Hungarian Investments
in India, Richter Gedeon Rt the leading pharmaceutical company of Hungary
has invested US $ 20 million in an Indian venture with Themis
Medicare Ltd., based in Mumbai,
India to expand
production capacity.
Bilateral
trade has registered an impressive 75% growth in calendar year 2006
reaching the US$ 230 mn mark.
In Nov 06, the Indian and
Hungarian EXIM Banks have renewed an MoU for a $ 10 million reciprocal credit line.
Cooperation in the field of
Science & Technology is active with regular exchange of visits; the 7th session of S&T
JCM was held in New Delhi
in Dec 06. S&T Co-operation is implemented
through two Agreements - between the Indian National Science Academy
(INSA) and the Hungarian Academy of Sciences (HAS), and between our Department
of Science and Technology (DST) and the National Office for Research and
Technology [NKTH] Hungarian Ministry of Economy and Transport. There is also an MoU
between IIT (Mumbai) and the premier Hungarian University of Technology, the
Budapest University of Technology and Economics (BUTE) under which joint
research activities, exchange of academic staff and post-graduate students and organisations
of various seminars and workshops is
envisaged.
India - Hungary Cultural
relations are very strong.
Performances of the visiting cultural troupes [vocal, dance and
traditional arts etc] are well received in Hungary. Hungary also has an old tradition
of Indology.
With ICCR sponsorship,
a Tagore Research Fellowship on Indology / Indian studies is being established at ELTE University.
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