Hungary has celebrated 50 years since the founding of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
The Hungarian government hosted a flag hoisting ceremony organized by the Budapest based missions of ASEAN Member States to mark the occasion.
Deputy State Secretary Szilveszter Bus, the first Hungarian ambassador accredited to the ASEAN, commended the outstanding achievements made by the countries of the association over the past 50 years.
Bus said the bilateral relations between Hungary and the ASEAN member states have never been so strong. He said high level meetings are regular occurances between governments, trade turnover beating records every year, and exceeded 2.1 billion USD last year.
He added that tourism is rapidly growing in both directions, our cooperation in higher education is widening. The Hungarian government offered places to 176 students from ASEAN Member States to start in September.
What's more, Hungary has opened new diplomatic and trade missions in the ASEAN countries and signed numerous bilateral intergovernmental and inter institutional agreements.