Vice-President Hamid Ansari arrived in Budapest, the historic capital city of Hungary on Saturday afternoon to a warm welcome, the atmospherics of the occasion contrasting with the chilly local weather.
Accompanied by his wife Salma Ansari, he is in Budapest for a three-day visit with a crowded schedule of bilateral meetings and other engagements ahead.
Earlier speaking to the accompanying media team on Air India One, the special aircraft, Mr. Ansari spoke of the need to “close the gap” (on India’s part) in terms of bilateral contact at the senior level with Hungary. In 1993, Vice-President Shankar Dayal Sharma visited Budapest. During the past decade, in contrast, two Prime Ministers and three Foreign Ministers of Hungary have visited India.
Recalling “old ties” between the two nations on the cultural and academic fronts, Mr. Ansari said the tradition of studying India is still very much alive among Hungarian academics. “Deep cultural relations are embedded” in the bilateral relationship, he added. One of the Vice-President’s engagements here will be an interaction session with university students.
The Vice-President spoke of India’s intervention during the 1956 “revolution” in the country, that has since been repeatedly acknowledged by Hungarian leaders.
Mr. Ansari expects to be able to utilise the visit to find out and “take readings from” the Central European point of view on a number of current developments of interest to India.
The Vice-President is set to sign two agreements here, the city of the majestic Danube, one of them relating to water management. There is a business dimension to the visit, with India looking to leverage Hungary’s positive position while exploring opportunities in fields including information technology in the larger Central European region.
The Vice-President is accompanied on the visit by Minister of State for Chemicals and Fertilisers Mansukh L. Mandavia and senior officials of the Ministry of External Affairs.
On Monday, Mr. Ansari will proceed to Algeria.