News

To strengthen the Hungarian–Vietnamese cooperation in the water industry, the Hungarian Water Partnership participated in the 2025 Vietnam Water Week, organized in Hanoi by our strategic partner, the Vietnam Water Supply and Sewerage Association. Between August 20–22, the international forum was attended on behalf of our cluster by Co-President Róbert Forintos and Secretary General Bálint Horváth.

Our industrial cluster had the distinguished opportunity to present itself at the 95th Meeting of the Strategic and Technical Council (STC) of the African Water and Sanitation Association (AfWASA), held in Lilongwe, the capital of Malawi, from 21 to 24 July 2025. HWP was represented by its President, Dr. Károly Kovács, who serves as the sole non-African member of this committee within the pan-African organization. A detailed report is available here.

 

At the invitation of the head of the Romanian Water Association (ARA), the president of the Hungarian Water Partnership took part in the EXPOAPA 2025 water industry exhibition in Bucharest, held from June 23–25.

One of the highlights of the event was a high‑level regional roundtable discussing the European Commission’s Water Resilience Strategy, published in June. Dr. Károly Kovács joined the panel as a speaker, while the session was chaired by Jessika Roswall, the Commissioner for Environment, Water Management and a Competitive Circular Economy.

In March, HWP signed a memorandum of understanding in Seoul with the Korea Water and Wastewater Works Association (KWWA). The cooperation got off the ground right away: it was agreed with the South Korean partner organization that a group of public administration experts and civil servants responsible for water management will conduct a study visit to Budapest this summer.

On June 17 KWWA's 17‑member delegation toured the Csepel island water treatment facility of the Budapest Waterworks, where they were welcomed by HWP’s president, Dr. Károly Kovács, and co‑president, Róbert Forintos. During the visit, Károly gave a presentation not only introducing HWP but also sharing insights about our region’s water supply and sanitation situation, as well as the latest infrastructure development trends.

Here's a quick summary of what we've achieved so far — thanks to these results, our member companies now have more and more professional connections they can use to get involved in water industry and infrastructure projects across the "black continent".

HWP participated as an exhibitor and through presentations at the "Looking back, Looking forward: A State of the Sector Update" water conference organized by the Vienna-based (and notoriously long-named) International Association of Water Service Companies in the Danube River Catchment Area (IAWD).

The Hungarian Water Partnership has recently been focusing on developing professional collaboration in the countries surrounding Hungary. After last year's surprisingly successful bilateral conference held in Révkomárom (Slovakia), the next important step in this direction was the Hungarian-Romanian forum, organized in cooperation with the Eco-Innovation Cluster for Sustainable Environment (CLEMS) in Kolozsvár (Cluj-Napoca), the "Capital of Transylvania", Romania.

After last year’s great experience, HWP once again took part as an exhibitor at the Hungarian pavilion organized by the HEPA Hungarian Export Promotion Agency at the Mostar Fair, held from April 8–12. Among our member companies, Rimóczi és Társa Ltd., who knows the Western Balkans well, was also present at the stylish Hungarian stand. By sharing their connections from the region, they helped more local, Croatian, and Serbian businesses get to know what HWP and our members do. During the Bosnian and Herzegovinian fair, the HWP representative also sat down with the economic attaché from the Hungarian Embassy in Sarajevo and the Hungarian honorary consul in Mostar to talk about how they can support member companies looking for business partners in the region.

With its numerous relevant projects, Bay Zoltán Nonprofit Ltd. for Applied Research is an important member of the HWP, which develops the export potential of the domestic water industry. Congratulations on the award recognizing the WWT-related innovative activities!

 

According to a Korean tradition, Hungarians and Koreans are kindred peoples, and many older Koreans still believe this today. Whether it's true or not, Dr. Károly Kovács, president of MASZESZ, and Zoltán Horváth, managing director of HWP, received an exceptionally warm welcome in South Korea. The visit was hosted by the Korean Water and Wastewater Works Association (KWWA) and was centered around the Water Korea 2025 expo, held from March 19-21, where KWWA played a key organizing role. During the event, a cooperation agreement was signed, and the implementation has already begun.