Szijjarto: Agriculture university ‘ally’ to government in implementing foreign strategy

According to a ministry statement, Szijjarto called MATE “a crucial asset, a stable pillar in implementing the government’s pragmatic foreign strategy aimed at promoting national interests”.

Hungary’s foreign policy “is less motivated by idelogies and focuses more on practical objectives such as helping Hungarian products and technologies to foreign markets, importing know-how, as well as helping higher education to reach an international level,” the statement quoted the minister as saying.

MATE is “one of Hungary’s most international universities with its 200 foreign students, participants of the Stipendium Hungaricum schlarship programme,” he said. He thanked the university for its “ensuring continuous improvement” in such areas as water management, agriculture, food production and food safety, putting Hungary in the forefront in global comparison. He noted that Hungary could produce twice as much in the agriculture as the country needs, adding that Hungary was among the ten largest seed producers, while “the whole world marvels Hungary’s food safety system. He also noted that Hungarian companies were investing “in the hundred million dollar range” under the government’s aid programme “from Laos through Cape Verde to Vietnam”, implementing water supply and water purification projects, enchancing water culture, as well as agriculture and food production in those countries.