Indian Council of World Affairs

Our friends from Hungary and scholars!

1.  India and Hungary share a close and longstanding relationship deeply rooted in historical, economic, cultural and diplomatic ties. Over the years, the relationship has managed to flourish and has expanded to sectors such as trade, technology, education and cultural exchange. This is evident in the expanding nature of bilateral trade, crossing the one-billion-dollar mark in 2022 despite Covid. There lies great potential in not just developing ties in traditional sectors such as trade and investments but also in new and evolving sectors such as renewable and green energy.

2.  Economic cooperation, thus, forms a crucial pillar of India-Hungary ties. Trade between the two countries has seen steady growth in sectors like pharmaceuticals, information technology, automative components and renewable energy. Besides, Indian companies have been also making investments in Hungary. Similarly, the Hungarian companies have also made investments in the infrastructure, engineering and automotive sectors.

3.  India enjoys a substantial goodwill in Hungary because of the role it played in the 1956 Hungary uprising as India’s intervention with Soviet Union was crucial for saving the life of Dr. Arpad Goncz, who later became the PM of Hungary in 1990. Similarly, Hungary’s role in the evacuation of Indian students from the war in Ukraine is much appreciated in India.

4.  India remains a popular destination to ordinary Hungarians because of the ancient culture and spiritual traditions that India offers to its tourists. This time in Feb 2025, however, it was none other than Hungarian PM and his family who spent two-weeks in Kerala as part of their private tour to India demonstrating evolving nature of ties between the two countries.

5.  The people to people connect have become an essential aspect of India-Hungary ties which is based on mutual understanding and cultural appreciation. Hungary has emerged as a major destination for Indian students particularly in the field of medicine, engineering and humanities.

6.  We at ICWA are happy to host our partners from the Hungarian Institute of International Affairs and are eager to listen to the views of Dr. Gladden Pappin on a topic which could not be timelier for anyone interested in international relations. Hungary has regularly featured in the academic works that our scholars do here at ICWA. We commissioned a book project on the post-Soviet Idea of Order in Eastern Europe which has been recently published. You will be glad to know that Hungary occupies a substantial portion of the study.

7.  Friends, we are gathered here at a pivotal moment in international politics. With the election of President Donald Trump to the Oval Office, the US-Europe relations seem to be on a path of decline. The US-Europe relations - from the fate of the trans-Atlantic alliance to a resurgent Russia & the crisis in Ukraine, from climate to trade and tech to China - are bound to undergo great stress. Growing discord between the two sides on these issues seems imminent as the European leaders prepare for redefining Europe’s role in the world amidst the intense geopolitical churn.

8.  Although the European leaders have expressed willingness to engage with the Trump administration and negotiate new terms of engagements, the recently concluded Munich Security Conference and President Trump’s decision to not involve Ukraine’s European allies from negotiations with Russia makes this difficult. The peculiar nature of President Trump’s politics is going to impact the EU-US relations broadly in these three domains which could be described as three Ts- Trade, Truce and Transatlantic Alliance.

9.  President Trump’s America First approach is fuelling great churn in both the domestic and foreign policies of the United States. His unconventional nature of politics is not limited to Europe only. The Asian allies of America like Japan and South Korea too have felt President Trump’s disruptive approaches, for instance, over the semi-conductor industries and defence issues. These countries have been described by President Trump as taking advantage of US.

10.  President Trump’s politics, however, also give an opportunity to European and Asian countries to diversify their economic relations and I am glad to note that India has emerged as a popular destination for these countries. The recent visit of President, European Commission Ursula von der Leyen with other European Commissioners to India was well timed as the world notices the opportunities India offers to the world because of its rapidly growing economy.

11.  With respect to India’s relations with the United States, there is bipartisan support for the relations to continue to grow. External Affairs Minister Dr. S Jaishankar has pointed numerous times that the two nations share good relations which was also evident during the first term of President Trump. Thus, India will continue to remain a key partner of Trump’s second administration with bilateral relations continuing to strengthen in sectors like defence, security, trade and technology.

12.  Under the Trump administration, the Indo-Pacific is once again poised to gain prominence. The Indo-Pacific tour, by Tulsi Gabbard, the US Director of National Intelligence, to India, Japan and Thailand which was preceded by Prime Minister Modi’s successful visit to the US demonstrates the rekindled interest of the US in the Indo-Pacific. The two countries have great potential to cooperate towards keeping the Indo-Pacific free, open and immune to aggression.

13.  I am very glad to host Dr. Gladden Pappin again, who was here last year also and had a very productive discussion with the Director General of ICWA on regional and global issues of mutual interest. Dr. Pappin is the President of the Hungarian Institute of International Affairs which is an MoU partner of the ICWA and whose visit will further bring the two institutions together.

14.  May I now kindly invite Dr. Gladden Pappin to deliver his talk on ‘US under Trump 2.0: Implications for Europe and the World’.

Thank You

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