') //--> ') //-->
India’s relations with Hungary have been close and friendly, multifaceted and substantive. They have survived the vicissitudes of political and economic changes, particularly in Hungary and reorientation of its foreign policy in the post-cold war period. Hungarians are extremely grateful for India’s role in the 1956 uprising in Hungary. India’s intervention with the Soviet Union saved the life of Dr. Arpad Goncz who subsequently served as President of Hungary from 1990 to 2000. India is seen as a country whose ancient culture and spiritual traditions and the academic and scientific excellence specially in the “knowledge sector” is deeply attractive to ordinary Hungarians. Bilateral economic relationship has also been strengthened with investments of the order of over $ 2 billion from India to Hungary. External Affairs Minister Dr. Subrahmanyam Jaishankar visited Hungary from 25-27 August 2019 and met his counterpart.
High level visits
Vice-President of India, Shri M. Hamid Ansari, visited Hungary from 15 – 17 October, 2016. President of India, Dr. Shankar Dayal Sharma visited Hungary in 1993. Prime Minister Shri Rajiv Gandhi visited Hungary in 1988. From Hungary, the visit of PM Orban to India took place during the 65th anniversary of establishment of diplomatic relations in 2013. There have been visits of Prime Minister Peter Medgyessy in 2003 and Prime Minister Gyurcsany’s State visit in 2008 on the occasion of the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations. The last Hungarian President to visit India was Dr. Arpad Goncz in 1991.
Visit of Vice President of India
The Vice-President of India, accompanied by Minister of State for Chemicals and Fertilizers, Shri Mansukh L Mandavia, and four Members of Parliament – Ms. Kumari Selja, Dr. Prabhakar Kore, Shri Javed Ali Khan, and Prof. Saugata Roy, visited Hungary from 15-17 October 2016, at the invitation of Prime Minister Orban. The visit took place as Hungary prepared for commemorating the 60th Anniversary of the 1956 Revolution of October 23, prompting recall of the role played by the then CDA, Shri M.A. Rahman, in saving the life of Arpad Goncz, who subsequently became President of Hungary. VP had delegation level talks with PM Orban, called on President Janos Ader and met with Speaker Laszlo Kover. Two documents – an MOU for Cooperation in Water Management and an MOU between the Indian Council for World Affairs and the Institute of Foreign Affairs and Trade of Hungary, were signed during the visit.
Visit of PM Orban to India
Prime Minister Viktor Orban led a 100-member strong delegation including a 80-member business delegation on his visit to Delhi and Mumbai from October 16-18, 2013. He was accompanied by Minister of National Economy, Mihaly Varga, Minister of Human Resources, Zoltan Balog among other officials. He called on President, Vice President and held delegation level discussion with Prime Minister. MoUs on Traditional Systems of Medicine, Cooperation in the field of Sports, Cooperation in the areas of Defensive Aspects of Microbiological and Radiological Detection and Protection and Cultural Exchange Programme were signed. In addition, Letters of Intent on Revision of Air Services Agreement and Indo-Hungarian Strategic Research Fund were also signed. PM Orban delivered the keynote address at ICWA on “Hungary and Europe in a Changing World”. He addressed Business Forums in both cities and a meeting with Indian investors at the Mumbai Stock Exchange.
Important Bilateral Treaties and Agreements
Bilateral visits
Over the years, several high-level visits have taken place:
India to Hungary
President Zakir Hussain | 1958 |
President V. V. Giri | 1970 |
PM Indira Gandhi | 1972 |
President Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed | 1976 |
Speaker B.R.Jakhar | 1980 |
PM Rajiv Gandhi | 1988 |
Speaker Rabi Ray | 1991 |
President S.D.Sharma | 1993 |
Speaker S.Patil | 1995 |
Smt. Sushma Swaraj, Minister for Parliamentary Affairs and Health and Family Welfare | June 2003 |
Mr Natwar Singh, External Affairs Minister | June 2005 |
Smt Ambika Soni Minister of Tourism & Culture | October 2006 |
Mrs. Panabaaka Lakshmi, Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare. | September 2007 |
Shri Anand Sharma, Minister of Commerce and Industry | February 2010 |
Smt. Meira Kumar, Speaker of Lok Sabha | June 2010 |
Smt. Preneet Kaur, Minister of State for External Affairs | November 2010 |
Shri Ashwani Kumar, Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs | May 2011 |
Shri Vilasrao Deshmukh, Minister for Science and Technology | November 2011 |
Shri Sachin Pilot, Minister of State for Communications and IT Technology | October 2012 |
Shri Salman Khurshid, Minister of External Affairs | July 2013 |
Shri Harish Rawat, Minister of Water Resources | October 2013 |
Dr. Mahesh Sharma, Minister of State for Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation | June 2016 |
Shri Hamid Ansari, Vice-President | October 2016 |
Dr. Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, External Affairs Minister | August 2019 |
Hungary to India
PM Ferenc Munnich | 1962 |
PM Gyula Kallai | 1966 |
President Pál Losonczi | 1969 & 1976 |
PM Jeno Fock | 1974 |
Speaker Istvan Sarlos | 1986 |
President Dr. Arpad Goncz | 1991 |
Speaker Zoltan Gal | 1994 |
Speaker Janos Ader | 1999 |
PM Peter Medgyessy | 2003 |
Dr. Kinga Goncz, Foreign Minister | November 2006 |
Dr. Janos Veres, Finance Minister | January 2007 |
Mr. Istvan Hiller, Minister of Cultural Heritage | October 2007 |
PM Ferenc Gyurcsány | January 2008 |
Dr. Ildikó Kovács, National Office for Research and Technology | January 2010 |
Mr. Peter Balazs, Minister of Foreign Affairs | January 2010 |
Mr. László Parragh, President of Hungarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry | March 2010 |
Dr. Zsolt Semjén, Deputy Prime Minister, Deputy Speaker of Parliament | May 2012 |
Dr. János Latorcay, Deputy Speaker of Parliament | May 2012 |
Mr. László Kövér, Speaker of Parliament | November 2012 |
Mr. Péter Szijjartó, State Secretary for External Economic Relations | August 2013 |
Mr. Viktor Orban, Prime Minister | October 2013 |
Mr. János Martonyi, Minister of Foreign Affairs | November 2013 |
Dr. Csaba Balogh, Deputy State Secretary for Eastern Opening, MFAT | January 2015 |
Mr. Péter Szijjártó, Minister of Foreign Affairs | May 2015 |
Dr. Laszlo Szabo, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs and Trade | October 2015 |
Mr. Istvan Ijgyarto, MOS for Cultural and Science Diplomacy, MFAT | May 2016 |
Mr. Péter Szijjártó, Minister of Foreign Affairs | July 2016 |
Dr. Pana Petra, Deputy State Secretary for Foreign Trade, MFAT | December 2016 |
Dr. Csaba Balogh, Minister of State for Public Policy, MFAT | October 2017 |
Mr. Istvan Mikola, Minister of State for Security Policy and International Cooperation, MFAT | November 2017 |
Mr Peter Sztaray, MoS for Security Policy for Raisina Dialogue | January 2019 |
Bilateral Commercial & Economic Cooperation
Economic cooperation between India and Hungary has a long history. Cooperation in this field was institutionalized in 1949 with the signing of a rupee trade agreement, which operated through the negotiation of annual protocols which fixed the products to be traded and the amounts thereof, with the trade being canalized through government agencies. The major items of export from India before 1990 were tea, tobacco, pepper and other spices, de-oiled cakes, finished leather and shoe uppers, iron ore and pellets, cotton and jute goods, engineering goods, Maruti vehicles, chemicals and chemical products. Imports from Hungary included steel and steel products, chemicals, machine tools, pulses, peas, newsprint and engineering goods, especially for railways and power projects. Over 25 collaborations had also been established in India by Hungarian companies. Trade has surpassed the levels of 1980s and now stands at around USD 730 mn.
Bilateral Trade
Year | Indian Exports | Indian imports | Total Trade |
(in USD Million) | (in USD Million) | (in USD Million) | |
2009 | 397.6 | 190.7 | 588.3 |
2010 | 271.1 | 354.4 | 625.5 |
2011 | 353.0 | 487.8 | 840.8 |
2012 | 363.9 | 278.7 | 642.6 |
2013 | 365.6 | 216.9 | 582.5 |
2014 | 385.3 | 210.7 | 596.0 |
2015 | 364.9 | 213.4 | 578.3 |
2016 | 382.0 | 186.1 | 568.1 |
2017 | 437.3 | 229.0 | 666.2 |
2018 | 459.2 | 277.5 | 736.7 |
Major Hungarian Exports to India: Machinery and mechanical appliances and parts, electrical machinery and equipment, television image and sound recorders and parts, organic chemicals, optical photographic, cinematographic measuring, checking, precision, medical or surgical instruments and accessories, vehicles and parts, pharmaceutical products, plastics, articles of paper, iron and steel, plastics.
Major Indian Exports to Hungary: Machinery and mechanical appliances and parts, organic chemicals, pharmaceutical products, electrical machinery and equipment, television image and sound recorders and parts, vehicles and parts, footwear, rubber articles, iron and steel, plastics.
Joint Economic Committee (JEC): The Indo-Hungary Joint Economic Committee provides the institutional framework for intergovernmental discussions on economic cooperation. Department of Industrial Policy & Promotion is our nodal agency. The Fifth Session of the Hungarian-Indian Joint Commission on Economic Co-operation, was held on March 6-7, 2018 in New Delhi.Both Sides agreed that the full potential of co-operation in several areas has remained untapped and shared the view that both the government and private sectors in their respective countries should take further steps in order to promote trade and investment as well as to strengthen business relations.
Joint Business Council (JBC): A Joint Business Council of Indian and Hungarian companies was set up in 1979 under an agreement between FICCI and Hungarian Chamber of Commerce to promote direct contacts between business delegations. A meeting of the Joint Business Council was held on the sidelines of JEC meeting in Budapest, Hungary, on June 2, 2016. FICCI brought an 18-member Indian business delegation for the Joint Business Forum. Over 100 B-2-B meetings were held between the Indian companies and the Hungarian companies which participated in Joint Business Forum.
Cooperation in Science and Technology:Cooperation in S&T is a key focus area in India-Hungary relations. Currently, the bilateral cooperation is being executed through two agreements - between Indian National Science Academy (INSA) and the HAS and between Department of S&T and NIH, Ministry for National Economy. The two countries have undertaken 30 joint research projects during the plan period (2006 - 2010). Projects covered diversified areas such as nano-technology, agriculture, molecular and nano-science and bio-diversity. The latest session of the Indo-Hungarian Joint Science & Technology Committtee was held in New Delhi on March 21-22, 2018. It was agreed, that seven projects would be jointly funded for a period of 3 years in the areas of ICT, health, energy, agriculture, wastewater treatment, nano-technology, veterinary sciences.
Indian Investments in Hungary: India was the largest greenfield investor in Hungary in 2014 and third largest in 2015. The major Indian presence in Hungary includes Apollo Tyres, SMR Automotive, Sun Pharmaceuticals, Orion Electronics Ltd., Sona BLW, Cosmos and major IT companies TCS, WIPRO, Cognizant and Tech Mahendra. Apollo Tyres has set up a greenfield tyre production factory in Hungary with an investment of Euro 475 million. PM Viktor Orban and Apollo Chairman Onkar Kanwar laid the foundation stone of the factory on 10 April 2015. Gurgaon-based multinational group SRF limited announced in June 2018 the setting up of a packaging plant in the city of Jaszfenyszaru (approx. 70 kms from Budapest). The company is investing Euro 60 million and will employ 100 workers. Gurgaon-based multinational group SRF limited announced setting up of a packaging plant in the city of Jaszfenyszaru. The company plans to invest Euro 60 million (approx. Ft 18 billion) and will employ 100 workers. Production is expected to commence in 2019. On 21st November 2018, a greenfield investment of Euro 71.50 million by Flex Films Europa, a subsidiary of Uflex India ltd was announced. The company will establish a flexible packaging materials production plant in Rétság. In May 2018 Samvardhana Motherson Group (SMG) inaugurated a HUF 5 billion (€ 15.3 million) expansion at its base in Túrkeve (SE Hungary). SMGʼs molded plastics division, Motherson Automotive Technologies & Engineering (MATE) will build a 12,000 squaremeter plant creating 100 jobs. Indian companies in Hungary provide employment to over 10,000 people. There are a small number of first-generation Indians who have set up businesses.
From Hungary, there is only one significant investment. Richter Gedeon, the Hungarian Pharma major has invested USD 20 million in 51:49 joint venture with an Indian firm Themis Medicare Ltd., for production of intermediates, the entire production is exported to Richter Gedeon, Hungary. Efforts are being made to augment Hungarian investments into India.
Cultural Links
Indian Cultural Centre in Budapest was formally opened in November 2010 and named Amrita Sher-Gil Cultural Centre on 15 August, 2014. The Centre has been organising regular cultural activities since 2010. In addition, Yoga, Dance, Music and Hindi classes, screening of Indian films are also being held regularly. A bi-monthly ‘Amrit‘ magazine is brought out by the Centre. The Embassy has also organised Indian cultural days in several major cities in Hungary. Bhartiya Samaj has been constituted in 2010 to cater to the cultural needs of the community. The International Day of Yoga was first celebrated in Budapest on 21st June 2015 showcasing yoga, Indian cultural performances, henna painting, and Indian cuisines, handicrafts. The Ganga-Danube Cultural Festival was launched in June 2016, featuring cultural troupes of a diverse variety of dance performers and artists from India. The 5th International Day of Yoga was organized in June 2019 in 17 cities of Hungary. Embassy celebrated the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi on October 2, 2018 in the magnificent Hungarian Parliament's prestigious Szell Kalman Hall. The Speaker of Hungarian National Assembly, and Members of the Hungarian Parliament participated in the event. On 21 February, 2019, in collaboration with the Embassy, the Magyar Posta issued a commemorative miniature sheet of four stamps in forty thousand copies. The 5th Indian Film Festival was organized from 4-10 October, 2018 in Puskin cinema, Budapest. A selection of 7 Hindi films and three regional films were showcased under the aegis of a professional Curator appointed for the Indian Film Festival, which also roped in three National Award-Winning Director of Indian Films.
Indian Community
There are about 1200 Indians living in Hungary. Most of them are students (there are about 700 Indian students studying in various universities in Budapest, Pecs, Szeged and Debrecen) and ICT professionals, while some are working in the manufacturing sector of Indo-Hungarian joint ventures.
List of Indian investments in Hungary:
Company | Sector | Remarks |
Apollo Tyres | Automotive | Has invested Euro 475 million in a greenfield plant in Gyongyoshalasz. Inauguration of the plant took place on 7th April 2017. |
Tata Consultancy Services TCS Hungary | IT | Established office in 2001. Upgraded the unit to Global Development Centre. |
SMR Automotive Mirror Tech. | Auto components | Established in 1995, belonged to the Visocorp company. Acquired by the SMR group (Samvardhana Motherson Reflectec) in 2009, the Hungarian unit was renamed SMR Automotive Mirror Technology Hungary. |
Samvardhana Motherson Peguform (SMP) | Automotive | The foundation stone for the new SMP factory was laid on 27th November 2015 in Kecskemet. Part of the Samvardhana Motherson Group, the factory will produce bumpers for Mercedes cars. |
Sun Pharma / Alkalioda | Pharma | Acquired by Sun Pharmaceuticals in 2005. Is active in narcotic and alkaloid substances in the medicinal field. |
CG Electric Ganz Transelektro / | Electrical equipment | Acquired by Crompton Greaves group, through their Belgian subsidiary Pauwels Ltd. in July 2006 |
Cosmos City | Fashion, garments | Franchise network with 35 shops in Hungary, and neighboring countries. |
Wipro | IT | An Indian IT company. They have an office in Infopark. |
TechMahindra | IT | Satyam Computer Services opened in 2004. In 2013 became Tech Mahindra Ltd. |
Dunakiliti Konzervuzem | Food processing | Acquired by Global Green, a Crompton Greaves group company, in 2006. |
Eroterv- Waagner-Biro Kornyezetvedelmi Kft. | Industrial fly-ash | 90% share held by Indian company McNally Bharat in 2000. Has 10 employees; company designs devices for industrial fly-ash removal. |
SRF Ltd. | Packaging | SRF limited announced setting up of a packaging plant in the city of Jaszfenyszaru on 16th June 2018. The company is investing Euro 60 million and will employ 100 workers. Production is expected to commence in 2019. |
Flex Films | Packaging | Indian-owned Flex Films announced the establishing of a flexible packaging materials production plant in Rétság in November 2018; the value of the investment is 23 billion forints (EUR 71.5 million). |
MATE (SMG) | Automotive | Samvardhana Motherson Group (SMG) inaugurated a HUF 5 billion (€ 15.3 million) expansion at its base in Túrkeve (SE Hungary) on 22nd May. The investment by SMGʼs molded plastics division, Motherson Automotive Technologies & Engineering (MATE) creates 100 jobs. MATE will build a 12,000 squaremeter plant at the base. |
October 2019