Budapest, May 30 (MTI) – Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó said that Hungary will develop closer ties with the Republic of Mordovia, a federal constituent of Russia.

More intensive cooperation with Mordvinia may help counterbalance the decline in Hungarian-Russian trade, the minister said on Monday after talks with Vladimir Volkov, head of the republic.

The two sides signed an economic cooperation agreement.

Addressing a subsequent press conference, Szijjártó noted that the trade turnover between Hungary and Russia fell by 47 percent last year, and by another 25 percent in January-February this year.

He said that agriculture, the biggest loser in the decline, may play a key role in cooperation with Mordvinia, for instance in the fields of cattle breeding, goose feather processing and seed-corn production.

Volkov said that Hungary and the Republic of Mordovia were cooperating in preserving the cultural roots of Finno-Ugric peoples.

Photo: MTI

Source: http://mtva.hu/hu/hungary-matters