Trade and Industry Minister Tarek Qabil said that holding the Egyptian-Hungarian business forum in Egypt is an important step to promote trade and investment ties between the two countries. 

It also gives a chance to the private sector from both countries to play a crucial role in attaining a quantum leap in the joint economic relations, he added in statements Wednesday. 

The visit of President Abdel Fattah El Sisi to Hungary last year paved the way to start a new phase of economic cooperation, which is based on attaining joint interests for the two sides, he added. 

The minister also pointed out to the efforts exerted by the governments of the two countries to enhance economic cooperation, which contributed to increasing the volume of trade exchange by 66% during 2014. 

The volume of trade exchange between Egypt and Hungary reached about 289 million dollars in 2015, including about 20 million dollars of Egypt's exports, he added.