On January 11, Secretary-General Julie Bynens of Flanders Chancellery and Foreign Office and József Magyar, Hungarian Deputy State Secretary for European Relations, signed a new cooperation agreement for the period 2021-2024.
It was the eleventh time that delegations from both countries met since the signing of a cooperation agreement in 1994.
Initially, the aim is to further strengthen economic development and logistics, which have suffered from the effects of COVID-19. As the hinterland of the ports, Hungary is of great geopolitical importance to Flanders. Therefore, the Representative of Flanders Investment & Trade in Hungary also took part in the discussions.
There will also be cooperation on economic clusters, agriculture with a focus on animal welfare, education, youth work, health care, scientific research and innovation and culture. For example, a number of Hungarian museums contain collections of 'Flemish Masters' from the 16th and 17th centuries. The strongly developed Hungarian Dutch language is also a point of attention.
A number of policy aspects and political decisions were also discussed during the talks, including on EU matters and human rights. Secretary-General Bynens also consulted with State Secretary Orsolya Pacsay-Tomassich on the margins of the joint committee.
