Hungary will continue to promote its national interests in foreign policy, Péter Szijjártó, the minister of foreign affairs and trade, said at an annual parliamentary hearing on Tuesday.
By consistently implementing its foreign policy strategy over the past year, Hungary has been able to protect the health of the Hungarian people, relaunch its economy quickly, counter the pressure posed by migration and secure energy supplies, Szijjártó told before the foreign affairs committee.
He said the effects of the coronavirus pandemic had upset the global economic and political status quo and created serious health, economic, energy supply and migration problems for the European Union over the past two years. “These problems have led to serious debates,” he said, adding that
Hungary “would continue to participate in those debates in future and seek to enforce its national interests”.
Speaking about migration, Szijjártó said the EU faced “unprecedented pressure” simultaneously from three directions. He noted that just this year, Hungary alone has stopped 110,000 migrants at its southern border. The minister stressed the need to support the African countries’ efforts to keep their residents in their home countries instead of promoting their migration to Europe. “Hungary has done its share,” Szijjártó said, noting Hungarian water management development projects in the continent, a donation of 1.5 million doses of vaccines and the implementation of 60 projects in the framework of the government’s Hungary Helps humanitarian aid programme.
As regards energy policy, Szijjártó said Hungary “was not willing to make a political-ideological question” out of its gas supplies. He noted the agreement
Hungary concluded with Russia’s Gazprom which ensures gas supplies to the country from the west and the south.
Speaking about trade, Szijjártó said the policy of opening to the East “had worked”, noting that 2021 will be the
third consecutive year when most foreign investments have been made by eastern investors, to the tune of 4.5 billion euros so far.
Zsolt Németh, the head of the committee, called the renewal of the minority ministerial committee an important achievement of Hungary’s Council of Europe presidency. Szijjártó responded as saying that “the door was slammed on national minorities in Brussels, so we had to open another one”.
Asked about Hungary’s relations with Ukraine by Attila Mesterházy, the committee’s deputy head for the opposition Socialists, Szijjártó said that bilateral relations had improved with almost all of Hungary’s neighbours. Ukraine, however, was another case, he said, citing continued violations of the rights of ethnic Hungarians. “Hungary for this reason
continues to block ministerial level talks between NATO and Ukraine,”
he said, suggesting that there might be a similar measure in talks with the EU, if there is no progress.
Asked about relations with Romania by Barna Pal Zsigmond, of ruling Fidesz, Szijjarto said the government would seek cooperation with the neighbouring country’s new government.
Asked about relations with Romania by Barna Pal Zsigmond, of ruling Fidesz, Szijjarto said the government would seek cooperation with the neighbouring country’s new government.
Read alsoMinister: Hungary ‘generous’ in its support of Ukraine
Source: MTI
If you would like to support the work of the Daily News Hungary staff and independent journalism,
please make a donation here
please make a donation here
Hot news
Regime change in parking in Budapest: Parking ticket machines may be removed in 2026
Chinese CATL to begin production next year in Hungary!
Special Japanese-Hungarian storytelling collaboration in Budapest – PHOTOS
PM Orbán talked about the the war’s end in Ukraine, invites Netanjahu to Budapest – UPDATED
Shocking: Forint in free fall, historic lows against the American dollar, GBP, CHF, PLN!
Snow covered Hungary this morning! – PHOTOS, VIDEOS
14 Comments
Excellent!
These are the orders from Putin to his puppy Orban.
It is so obvious who in fact owns Orbánistan: Russia and China. Russia dictates the foreign policy ( otherwise why no to Ukraine in Nato but yes to Serbia in the EU? Only Russia may want a Trojan horse like Serbia in the EU, another Russian puppet for us Europeans to feed….as if Orbanistan was not enough already…. )
China dictates everything else.
I appreciate the tireless efforts of Péter Szijjártó ifor Hungary.
Szijjártó is the best foreign minister Hungary had in a very long time.
Thank you and keep up the good work for all Hungarians.
Mario and Anoynmous, you both are ignoring the fact that Ukraine is mistreating ethnic Hungarians. Thus that is why Hungary is blocking any chance of Ukraine entering NATO until Ukraine stops mistreating Hungarians and returns the favour for Hungary giving it aid.
Ukranian government’s treatment of the Hungarian minority is shameful. There is no reason Hungary should support any country that miss treats a minority that ended up in Ukraine because of politics. It is the Hungarian government that ensured that these people have enough food and present for children. Mr. Putin needs not to encourage Hungary to deny Ukraine entry into NATO or EU. Ukraine does not deserve any consideration.
The Ukraine should NEVER be made an EU or NATO member. At least not as things are now. Maybe if Ukraine returns all of the former Hungarian territory stolen from it in the Triannon teaty and the ethnic Hungarians are allowed to become Hungarian citizens without retribution maybe Hungary could reconsider. But NOT going to happen as long as the EU and NATO lap dogs of the USA plan to install missiles around the border of Russia. Russia is NOT going to allow that to happen nor should they. They know the US wants to break up Russia and plunder its natural resources and Putin is no dummy count on that he will not let that happen.
Mario, if you dislike Russia then you should not support giving NATO entry to Ukraine. If Ukraine joins NATO the Russians will take over Ukraine in two weeks and you will have Russia as a neighbour of Hungary!
Ukraine is the prostitute of the degenerate US.
Mario doesn’t care if Russia becomes neighbor of Hungary because Mario is not Hungarian. He is a paid Soros agent whose job is to harm Hungary any way he can. Hungarian authorities would be derelict in their duty to keep Hungarians safe if they didn’t keep an eye on Mario.
I’m proud to say I am also a paid Soros agent.
So, it is Mario who is following me around using my username István. He probably posts under other usernames also, trying to earn his keep from Soros.
As of today, I no longer use István but StopSoros instead.
It will be interesting to see a Soros dog duplicating my StopSoros username -:)
There is no such thing as ‘ethnic Hungarians’ in these former territories any more (to be an ethnic Hungarian they would have to have been born when those lands were still Hungary, over a 100 years ago). An entirely artificial construct, devised to expand a voter base.
@Not Deluded, Hmmm there is. What are you smoking? The Hungarians in Ukraine are in the Zakarpattia Oblast region. They speak Hungarian and follow Hungarian customers.