Parliament Speaker Marian Lupu held a meeting with outgoing Hungarian Ambassador to Moldova Gyorgy Varga, according to the parliament's communication and public relations department. Marian Lupu highly appreciated Gyorgy Varga's activity during his four-year-long diplomatic mission in Moldova and the significant contribution to deepening the Moldovan-Hungarian bilateral relations. As an example, Lupu referred to the activity of the Common EU Visa Issuance Centre, which is hosted by the Hungarian Embassy in Chisinau. Initially four states joined the visa centre, whereas now it issues visas for 15 European states. Lupu also noted that the first Twinning project was implemented in Moldova with the support of the national assemblies of Hungary and France. This project contributed to the development of legislative practices and parliamentarism in Moldova. Lupu thanked Hungary for the significant support provided for Moldova's European integration. For his part, Gyorgy Varga thanked Lupu and the parliament for the support provided while exercising his mandate. Varga said that many important events happened on this period, and he was a witness of modernization and intensification of Moldova's European integration process. Varga noted that despite the economic crisis, trade exchanges between Moldova and Hungary increased by 325 per cent in 2011, reaching 112.8 million dollars. Lupu and Varga expressed conviction that an official visit to Hungary by the Moldovan parliament speaker, scheduled for the first half of September 2012, will contribute to the consolidation of the Moldovan-Hungarian strategic partnership.