Moroccan premier meets Hungarian president

Hungarian President Arpad Goenez received here Tuesday Moroccan Prime Minister Abderrahmane Youssoufi, who ended on Wednesday a three-day working visit to the East European country.

The Hungarian president is expected to visit Morocco next January.

The Moroccan premier's visit to Hungary was crowned with the signing of a package of cooperation agreements.

During his stay in Budapest, the head of the Moroccan government also conferred with Hungarian peer, Victor Orban, who underlined that Youssoufi's visit will open a new chapter in relations between the two countries, describing Morocco, which has adopted major economic reforms, as an important partner for his country.

Youssoufi also explained to Arab ambassadors in Budapest the aims of his visit and the importance that Hungary is gaining, as a future NATO and European Union member.

The prime minister, who is also the leader of the socialist party, exchanged with the leader of the Hungarian socialist party now in the opposition, Kovacks Laszlo, views on their respective countries' political experience.

Meanwhile the ministers of trade, industry and handicraft and of water and forests held talks with member of the Hungarian cabinet.

Trade exchanges between the two countries, which have always been weak, dropped substantially in the beginning of the 1980s to stand at usd 15 million, including 10 million in favor of Hungary. The drop is imputed to the deep structural reforms operated in the central European country following the shift to a market economy.