Hungarians to play active part in the reconstruction of this Caucasian region

Hungary and Azerbaijan are in a position to expand their economic cooperation, as part of which the Hungarian government aims to bring Azerbaijani natural gas to Hungary, Péter Szijjártó, the minister of foreign affairs and trade, said in Baku on Thursday.

Hungary having access to Azeri gas from the end of next year will be important in terms of the country’s energy security, the foreign ministry cited Szijjártó as saying at a press conference after a meeting of the Hungarian-Azeri economic mixed committee. Hungarian and Azeri businesses have started talks on the gas supply he said.

Szijjártó said his visit to Baku also served to help boost Hungarian-Azeri economic cooperation, which he said was supported by last year’s 28 percent growth in bilateral trade turnover.

Hungarian oil and gas company MOL and drugmaker Richter have also invested heavily in the country,

he added.

The Hungarian government is also supporting the participation of Hungarian companies in reconstruction efforts in the Karabakh region, including the upgrade of urban infrastructure, the construction of energy supply infrastructure and the restart of farming activities, Szijjártó said. Hungary’s Eximbank is supporting the reconstruction with a 120 million dollar credit line, he added.