Dr Tony Tan meets Hungarian leaders, visits monument

It was a solemn start to President Tony Tan Keng Yam's second day in Budapest o Wednesday morning. Under a grey sky, he laid a wreath at a national monument to Hungary's history.

The ritual at the Millenium Monument in Heroes' Square is one which is performed by all foreign leaders visiting the capital.

On Wednesday, Dr Tan met Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban in the National Assembly. The leaders had a frank and candid discussion on developments and challenges facing both regions, and agreed on the need to restructure economically to deal with globalisation, a Ministry of Foreign Affairs statement said.

Mr Orban assured Dr Tan of Hungary's strong support for the European Union-Singapore free trade agreement. They also discussed how to promote cooperation in economics, education, research and tourism.

Dr Tan also met Speaker of Parliament Laszlo Kover.

They reaffirmed the strong bilateral ties, highlighted the important role parliamentarians play in fostering such ties, and encouraged more inter-parliamentary exchanges. Mr Kover also invited Speaker of Parliament Halimah Yacob to Hungary.

Parliamentarians from both sides then had lunch at the Four Seasons Gresham Palace, where the Singapore delegation is staying.

Dr Tan's delegation includes Minister for the Environment and Water Resources Vivian Balakrishnan, who spoke at the Singapore-Hungary Business Forum on Wednesday.

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