MANILA - The Hungarian government has offered 20 million euros (P1.12 B) in grants for clean-up initiatives in the Manila Bay and the Laguna Lake, Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel Piñol said Thursday.

"The fund was offered by Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto after I mentioned the clean up of lakes, rivers, creeks and bays in the Philippines as part of the Department of Agriculture's fisheries program for sustainable fishing," Piñol said in a statement posted on his official Facebook page.

Budapest offered the grant in a bid to foster closer ties with Manila as part of the European country's "Eastern Shift" policy, which aims to boost Hungary's relations with Asian nations, Piñol said.

Business groups in the Philippines may also access more funds via Hungarian Eximbank's 510 million euro (P28 billion) credit loan program for Filipino entrepreneurs, he said.