Azernews.Az

By Amina Nazarli

Hungary will open a visa center in Baku in the near future, Zsolt Chutora, Hungarian ambassador to Azerbaijan told Trend on March 5.

The center will render technical services while issuing Schengen visas for the citizens of Azerbaijan.

“The consular department of the Hungarian embassy in Azerbaijan will charge this center with passport procedure for visa issuance. This center will be managed by a Hungarian company,” he said.

Chutora added that the opening of the visa center would greatly facilitate a visa obtaining procedure for Azerbaijani citizens visiting this country.

Moreover, the embassy plans to expand the work of the consular department in connection with the influx of tourists.

Meanwhile, Hungarian WizzAir airline will resume Baku-Budapest-Baku flights by late March in accordance with an intergovernmental agreement on air service.

Until now, direct flights between Baku and Budapest have been carried out with the memorandum of cooperation signed by the civil aviation administrations of the two countries.

The period of the memorandum validity was extended several times. It expired October 26, 2014 in accordance with the recent decision on prolongation.

The first Baku-Budapest direct flight opened on June 2013. Budapest, one of Europe's most beautiful cities, attracts many Azerbaijani tourists.

Hungary recognized Azerbaijan's independence in 1991, and diplomatic relations between the two countries were established in April 1992. The bilateral relations, which are at a high level and are based on friendship and mutual interests, have paved the way for the development of cooperation in various fields.

Azerbaijan and Hungary see great opportunities in the expansion of economic cooperation, establishment of relations between the players of the securities market, as well as exchange of experience and knowledge in this sector.

According to the State Customs Committee of Azerbaijan, the trade turnover between Azerbaijan and Hungary amounted to $95.55 million as of 2014. Around $71.56 million accounted for Azerbaijani exports.

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Amina Nazarli is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @amina_nazarli

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