Hungary’s foreign minister holds talks in Georgia

Tbilisi, July 27 (MTI) – The Hungarian foreign minister discussed Georgia’s Euro-Atlantic integration as well as bilateral economic ties with Georgian officials in Tbilisi on Wednesday.

Péter Szijjártó is in Tbilisi to speak at an annual meeting of ambassadors at the invitation of Mikheil Janelidze, his Georgian counterpart.

Szijjártó told MTI after his talks that Hungary supports Georgia’s Euro-Atlantic integration, which he said would make that country an even more stable partner in the future.

Hungary has always supported Georgia’s territorial integrity and sovereignty, he said, noting that Hungary has nine delegates in the European Union monitoring mission there.

He said it was unacceptable that Georgia had still not been given visa-free status by the EU, arguing that the country had fulfilled all criteria of eligibility. He also urged NATO to invite Georgia to join the military alliance, saying that it was the top non-NATO contributor of troops in the mission in Afghanistan.

Regarding his talks on economic ties, Szijjártó said the two countries would sign an investment protection agreement and defined the farm and food sectors as the main areas of cooperation.

The two countries signed an agreement under which Hungary will provide Georgia with 5 million forints (EUR 16,000) in aid for renovating a school building that was heavily damaged in a flood last year.

He said Hungary will grant scholarships to 50 Georgian university students.

Over the first four months of the year, Hungarian food exports to Georgia rose by 14 percent, Szijjártó said.

Photo: Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Source: MTI