Hungarian minister in Dar to cement relations

Dar es Salaam. Hungarian minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó yesterday arrived in Tanzania for a two-day visit to strengthen diplomatic and trade ties between the two countries.

During the visit, Mr Szijjártó and his Tanzanian counterpart January Makamba, will discuss priority issues and sign a memorandum of understanding between the Tanzanian Ministry of Water and the Hungarian Ministry of Interior, focusing on cooperation in the field of water management.

“The agreement will cement a new chapter of collaboration between the two nations,” the ministry said in a statement.

Mr Szijjártó will also meet with minister for Defence and National Services, Dr Stergomena Tax, at the ministry of Defence Headquarters in Upanga as he continues his diplomatic rounds in Tanzania.

Tanzania and Hungary have been in good relations dating back to the era of the Soviet Union and the Eastern Socialist Block but plummeted into a low ebb after the collapse of the Soviet Union and the dismantling of the Eastern Socialist Bloc.

Tanzania and Hungary have also had trade and investment relations, with statistics showing that the volume of trade between the two countries stood at $13.36 million in 2023.

Tanzania’s exports to Hungary stood at $2.56 million, while imports from Hungary counted up to $10.79 million.

Tanzania has been exporting to Hungary vegetables, tobacco, ossein and bones treated with acid, roasted coffee substitutes, heads, tails, paws, and other pieces of raw fur skin, and toothfish (Dissostichus). Tanzania has also been importing isocyanides, medicaments of mixed or unmixed products for retail sale, sanitary towels (pads) and tampons, other paraffin wax, and similar products from Hungary.

According to the Tanzania Investment Centre (TIC), Hungary has only four registered projects since 1997 to 2023, worth $1.79 million.

In the tourism area, Tanzania expects that Hungary could be among the new emerging markets for Tanzania’s tourist attractions. A number of tourists from Hungary visiting Tanzania has been increasing, from 2,175 in 2018 to 11,428 in 2023.

The government of Hungary has been offering higher education scholarships to Tanzanian students through the Stipendium Hungaricum, the Hungarian government’s most prestigious higher education scholarship programme.

The programme is based on bilateral educational cooperation agreements signed between the Ministries responsible for education in the sending countries or territories and Hungary, or between higher education institutions.

Currently, there are nearly 90 sending countries across five continents, including Tanzania, that are engaged in the programme, attracting more than 5,000 international students each year.

Applicants are offered more than 600 full-degree programmes, covering all higher education fields at all degree levels, including part-time and full-time doctoral programmes.

During the recent visit by the then President of Hungary, Katalin Novak, to Tanzania, the Memorandum of Understanding within the framework of the Stipendium Hungaricum Programme was signed.

The Pact will offer 30 scholarships annually to Tanzanian students to study in Hungary, and the Tanzanian government will offer five scholarships annually to Hungarians to study in Tanzania’s higher learning institutions.

Applications from the Hungarian side have commenced, with successful candidates anticipated to commence their studies in Hungary by September 2024.

Tanzania has likewise notified Hungarian authorities to invite applications from selected universities in Tanzania when the application window opens in July 2024.

Since the establishment of this cooperation in 2018–2023, a total of 146 Tanzanians have benefited from the programme.

New areas of cooperation

During his visit to Tanzania, new areas of cooperation are expected to be proposed. They encompass cooperation in manufacturing, which involves business, trade, and investment; food processing; pharmaceuticals; and agriculture.