Hungary and Algeria visit undertaken to reconnect old ties: Vice President

Vice President, M. Hamid Ansari addressing the media on board, Air India One Special Aircraft on his way back to New Delhi after five-day visit to Hungary and Algeria, 

New Delhi

Vice President, M. Hamid Ansari has said that his visit to Hungary and Algeria was undertaken to reconnect India's old ties with these two nations. He was addressing the Media onboard Air India One Special Aircraft on his way back to New Delhi after a five-day visit to Hungary and Algeria . The Minister of State for Road Transport & Highways, Shipping and Chemicals & Fertilizers, Mansukh L. Mandaviya was also present on the occasion. 

Vice President said that the visit to Hungary came after a long gap and there were substantive discussions with the Hungarian leadership on various issues.

He further said that two MoUs were signed with Hungary - one on water management and the other by Indian Council of World Affairs. Hungary agreed India on elimination of the menace of terrorism and supported a strong global legal framework and sustained global action to deal with the threat, he pointed out. Setting up a working group on science and technology to explore the possibilities of bilateral cooperation in various issues, including defence technologies for mutual benefits was also agreed upon, he added. 

Acknowledging that his Algeria visit also came after a long gap, the Vice President said that he had a wide range of discussions with Algerian leadership and there was agreement on taking the India-Algeria ties to a new level and how to 'rejuvenate' the bilateral relations. The Vice President said that Algeria was willing to cooperate with India in several sectors including Energy, Security, Space and Fertilizers. 

He further said that there was willingness on both sides on the possibility of setting up of a joint venture fertilizers plant by Algeria and India in the north African country. He pointed out that if the process of setting up of a joint venture fertilizer company in Algeria materializes, the price of fertilizer in India is expected to come down along with the subsidy burden of the government on fertilizer. The fertilizer plant was linked to our efforts for food security, he added. 

Reacting to a question on terrorism, the Vice President said that the issue of terrorism was discussed with the top leaderships of both Algeria and Hungary. Their view on the menace of terrorism was that it was a disease for the entire world and it has to be eradicated in all forms and manifestations, he added.