The Iranian government has expressed interest in boosting bilateral ties in the fields of finance, energy, mining and food, he said after talks with Iranian ministers in Tehran.
Iran’s Minister of Industries, Mining and Trade Mohammad Shariatmadari has identified potential areas of cooperation as medical equipment, food and paper industries.
Senior Iranian and Hungarian officials signed a memorandum of understanding to encourage and support investment by the two countries’ private sectors. The MoU was signed by Iranian Economy Minister Masoud Karbasian and Varga in Tehran on Monday afternoon, Financial Tribune reported.
Meanwhile, a joint venture contract and investment in the field of agriculture and agro-industry was signed between Hungarian LAC Holding and Iranian Nika Basir Payam, Fars News Agency reported.
Karbasian said on the sidelines of the signing ceremony that “these agreements will help [promote] investment climate between the two countries and in view of the Hungarian membership in European Union, it will reduce the risk of investment”.
According to Shariatmadari, Iran-Hungary trade is estimated to reach $100 million by the end of the current Iranian year (March 20, 2018).
“Last year, trade between the two countries increased by 100%,” he was quoted as saying in a meeting with Varga on Monday.
According to Varga, bilateral trade experienced a twofold increase since the nuclear deal officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action was signed between Iran and the world powers in 2015.
On the sidelines of a meeting with Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh on Monday, Varga said Hungary is keen to purchase more oil from Tehran.
In a forum held on Sunday, four memoranda of understanding were signed between Iranian and Hungarian businesses. The first was between Hungarian Enexio Company, Iranian Behin Saman Company and Thermal Power Plants Holding Company to manufacture hybrid cooling systems.
Next was Evoporo that signed an MoU in the field of electric vehicles with Iran’s Gijin company. Eveporo signed another agreement with the Iranian company Pishro Diesel in the field of electric rail equipment.
The fourth agreement pertained to the manufacture of 1,000 buses, which was signed between the Hungarian Ikarus and Iran’s City Industries and Mines Development Group, a subsidiary of Shahr Bank.
As reported by Hungarian news portal The Budapest Beacon, in a statement released on Sunday by its Ministry of National Economy to the Hungarian state-run news wire, Varga said:
* The government of Hungary considers Iran to be a significant player in Asia,
* Economic relations should be strengthened after the lifting of sanctions imposed against Iran,
* Direct flights should be launched between Tehran and Budapest,
* The Hungarian government is working on strengthening bank relations between the two countries,
* Eximbank, Hungary’s state-run import-export bank, has allocated $162 million for the strengthening of economic relations with Iran.