Foreign Minister Dr. A. K. Abdul Momen held a bilateral meeting with his Hungarian counterpart Mr. Peter Szijjarto in Geneva on 01 September 2021. Both of them were in Geneva for participating in the Asia-Pacific Regional Review Meeting in preparation for the Fifth UN Conference on the Least Developed Countries (LDC 5) to be held in Qatar in January 2022. In the meeting, issues of bilateral interest, as well as multilateral issues were discussed. Foreign Minister Momen expressed thanks to the Hungarian Foreign Minister for offering scholarships to Bangladeshi students, and requested him to increase the number of scholarships allocated to Bangladesh. Foreign Minister Szijjarto of Hungary assured Dr. Momen that the Hungarian Government would increase the number of scholarships to Bangladesh students in the next year. The issue of operationalization of the Consulate of Hungary was also discussed in this regard. The two Foreign Ministers agreed to explore cooperation in the area of the health sector. They also discussed increasing trade between the two countries.
During the day, Foreign Minister Momen also co-chaired a session of the ongoing Asia-Pacific Regional Review Meeting of the LDCs together with the Undersecretary of Ministry of Commerce and Industry of Qatar at the UN Headquarters in Geneva. The session titled “Structural transformation and resilient infrastructure for sustained economic growth, poverty alleviation and decent work for all” highlighted structural impediments faced by the LDCs of the Asia-Pacific region and how to build resilience against internal and external shocks and crises. The session was attended by a number of high-level speakers including the Economic Affairs Minister of Bhutan.