Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade of Hungary Peter Szijjarto has expressed support to the Maldivian bid to be granted visa-free status by the European Union (EU). The statement was made during a meeting held with Minister of Foreign Affairs of Maldives Abdulla Shahid in New Delhi, India.
During the meeting, the two ministers noted Hungary and Maldives mark the 45th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations this year. Szijjarto expressed Hungary's satisfaction with the decision of EU to lift economic sanctions it had imposed on the island nation. He said Hungary's Eximbank has opened a 30 million euro credit line to promote Hungarian investments in water management, food safety and tourism in the country.
Szijjarto also briefed his counterpart on the Hungarian Government's energy and climate protection strategy in light of vulnerability of Maldives to rising sea levels caused by climate change.