Azerbaijan key to Hungary’s secure energy supply, says FM Szijjártó in Baku

Azerbaijan is key factor in Hungary’s secure energy supply, Péter Szijjártó, the minister of foreign affairs and trade, said in Baku on Friday.

The country’s importance in this area will increase when it starts supplying gas to southern Europe in the near future, Szijjártó said. Hungary’s aims to connect its gas network to the southern European gas pipeline, he added.

He said

a new source of gas would enter the Hungarian market from 2023 should Greece, Bulgaria and Romania carry out pipeline construction work according to the planned schedule.

Hungary is hoping to buy 1-2 billion cubic meters of gas from Azerbaijan each year, he said.

Hungarian-Azeri ties have been further boosted by economic cooperation and in the fight against the novel coronavirus pandemic, Szijjártó said.

Azerbaijan sent 40,000 masks and 2,000 litres of disinfectant to Hungary “at the peak of the pandemic”, he said.