The Indonesian Foreign Affairs Ministrys Economic Diplomacy Task Force Senior Official, Adiyatwidi Adiwoso, stated during a group discussion with the Hungarian delegation here on Friday that in order to move forward, both countries should boost economic cooperation through research and education.
"Indonesia and Hungary offer varied opportunities not only in terms of commodities and investment but also through research and education among people of both countries, which can stimulate development of the business sector," she noted.
"As all businesses start with friendship," she pointed out.
Adiwoso proposed cooperation between Hungarian and Indonesian universities to attract start-up companies owned by young people through the invention-innovation-knowledge economy scheme.
The scheme was outlined in a white paper on the ecosystem of Indonesia-Hungary economic cooperation.
Hungarian Ambassador to Indonesia Judit Nemeth-Pach said her government aims to expand international relations through foreign business and trade cooperation.
"Hungary believes in establishing cooperation in foreign business and trade. We will not only maintain good international relations but at the same time also boost our development," she emphasized.
To this end, Ambassador Nemeth-Pach noted that the Hungarian government had renamed its foreign affairs ministry to the Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade Ministry.
Head of the Budapest Business School (BBS) Professor Kriset Eva Sandorne, in the company of Ambassador Nemeth-Pach, also attended the discussion in Jakarta.
Sandorne said the BBS was keen to cooperate with the universities in Indonesia through the exchange of students and researchers and also to probe other opportunities in the sector.
"Hungary is obviously not as big as Indonesia, but in terms of education, we offer several opportunities to cooperate," she affirmed.
Indonesia views Hungary as one of the potential markets in the central and eastern European Union. However, Indonesias trade value with Hungary is still classified as very low, with average US$200-220 million recorded during the past five years as compared to trade with Poland, which reached US$300-350 million in the same period. (WDY)
