Hungary’s foreign minister has bilateral talks on sidelines of UN general assembly

New York, September 22 (MTI) – Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó held bilateral talks on the sidelines of the United Nations general assembly session in New York, with delegates of countries including El Salvador, Kyrgyzstan, Morocco, Thailand, Angola and Russia.

Szijjártó signed a foreign affairs cooperation with his counterpart from El Salvador, aimed at holding consultations between the two ministries and promoting bilateral business cooperation. El Salvador has also requested that Hungary should share its experience in border control through a training programme, Szijjártó told MTI.

During the talks, Szijjártó signed an education cooperation accord with the foreign minister of Kyrgyzstan, under which Hungary would provide scholarships to 25 Kyrgyz students each year. Hungary also urges a new, extended partnership between the EU and that country, Szijjarto said, and argued that cooperation between central Asia and the EU was crucial for Hungary.

Szijjártó and the Moroccan foreign minister discussed Morocco’s sports stadium programme, and agreed that Hungarian firms could be involved in the scheme.

Szijjártó also had talks with the foreign minister of Iraqi Kurdistan, who requested weapons to continue the fight against the Islamic State terrorist organisation. Szijjarto said that Hungary would “negotiate with its allies about possible further arms supplies”.

During talks with his Angolan counterpart, Szijjártó announced that Hungary would reopen its embassy in Luanda, which was closed down 23 years ago.

Concerning his talks with Russia’s health minister, Szijjártó said that Hungary seeks ways for cooperation, which would not harm the European Union’s sanctions against Russia, but could mitigate the damage Hungary has suffered in wake of those measures.

In a lecture later in the day, Szijjártó said that Hungary “rejects double talk in the discourse on Russia”. “We expect everyone to respect that Hungary is on speaking terms with Russia,” he said.

Photo: MTI, The United States Mission to the United Nations

Source: MTI