Top Diplomatic Guests in Hungary on Our National Holiday

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán (R) receiving Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Budapest

Many state leaders visited Hungary during the weekend, having held bilateral talks with Prime Minister Viktor Orbán. Most of them visited the National Athletics Center, where the World Athletics Championships is currently being held.

On Sunday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan arrived in Hungary as a start of his diplomatic tour around the world. The bilateral talks with Viktor Orbán focused on energy cooperation between the two countries and the ratification of Sweden’s accession to NATO.

Turkey plays an extremely important, even indispensable, role in the security of energy supply of Hungary, as a significant part of the natural gas supplies to Hungary come through Turkey via the TurkStream pipeline,”

Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó pointed out. He added that Turkey’s transit role would be further strengthened by the entry into force of the Hungarian-Azeri gas transport contract and the start of Turkmenistan’s exports to Europe.

He also underlined that

energy cooperation would take on a new dimension with the possibility of gas supplies from Turkey, following the finalization of an agreement between Hungarian energy company MVM and Turkish oil and gas company BOTAŞ on the purchase of 275 million cubic meters of gas next year.

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic arrived in Budapest on Sunday as well. During his talks with Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, the parties reviewed political and economic relations between Hungary and Serbia, the state of EU integration in the Western Balkans, ways of combating illegal migration and joint energy and infrastructure projects.

Also on Sunday, Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov visited the the Prime Minister’s office in the Carmelite Monastery. It was noted that the recent opening of the Embassy of the Kyrgyz Republic in Budapest and the start of visa issuance at the Hungarian Embassy in Bishkek have fulfilled the hopes of the Kyrgyz Republic.

Prime Minister Viktor Orbán also held talks at the Carmelite Monastery with Željka Cvijanović, the Serbian member of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Milorad Dodik, President of the Republika Srpska on Sunday.

At the meeting, Viktor Orbán highlighted that the relations between Hungary and Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Republika Srpska remain excellent, and cooperation could be further increased, as reflected in the projects already started. The three leaders discussed enhanced action against illegal immigration and the strategic importance of the Western Balkans and its role in ensuring stability in Europe.

President of Turkmenistan Serdar Berdimuhamedow held talks with the Hungarian Prime Minister on energy security issues on Sunday.

Negotiations are under way with Turkmenistan on a comprehensive energy cooperation agreement, an essential element of which is that Hungary should be one of the destinations for future Turkmen gas exports.

During the meeting it was said that there are still untapped opportunities for cooperation in the fields of health, pharmaceuticals, agriculture, food, water, education and culture.

On Saturday evening, Prime Minister Viktor held bilateral talks with Rustam Minnikhanov, leader of Tatarstan. At the meeting, it was said that building on the results achieved so far together, the two countries are ready to continue cooperation in potential sectors, such as agriculture. Viktor Orbán said that Hungary is also trying to maintain cultural, scientific and higher education cooperation, and we will continue to welcome students from Tatarstan who wish to study in our country within the framework of the Stipendium Hungaricum program.

Uzbekistan’s President Shavkat Mirziyoyev also visited Hungary on Saturday. Viktor Orbán congratulated him on his victory in the July elections. The Prime Minister expressed his satisfaction that the Hungarian-Uzbek strategic partnership is expanding in a number of areas and that bilateral relations are gradually expanding, for example with the entry of leading Hungarian bank OTP into the Uzbek financial market or the launch of flights connecting the two capitals.

On Saturday, Prime Minister Viktor also received former Slovenian Prime Minister Janez Jansa, President of the Slovenian Democratic Party, the strongest opposition force. They discussed the global political situation, the importance of peace in the context of the Russian-Ukrainian war, and reviewed the tasks facing European conservative Christian parties in the run-up to the 2024 EP elections.

Concluding the weekend, on Sunday evening, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán received in the National Athletics Center the high-ranking foreign guests who had arrived in Budapest on the occasion of our national holiday and the World Athletics Championships.

The Prime Minister was accompanied by state leaders, politicians and prominent businessmen from all over the world, who were invited to watch the events in the stadium.

On Monday, the diplomatic meetings continued at the Carmelite Monastery, with Prime Minister Viktor Orbán welcoming former Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz.

The meeting focused on Hungarian-Austrian relations and the prospects for peace in the Russian-Ukrainian war. The parties also discussed current issues in European public life and the political representation of national and Christian values, with a special focus on next year’s European Parliament elections.

Via MTI, Featured photo via MTI/Miniszterelnöki Sajtóiroda/Benko Vivien Cher