Brunei’s FM Dato Erywan Pehin Yusof held talks in Hungary

The European Union must break out of its international isolation if it is to regain its competitiveness, the minister of foreign affairs and trade said on Tuesday, calling for closer relations with South-East Asia.

“Brunei is an extremely important player in a region with a growing political and economic significance in the world,” Péter Szijjártó told a joint press conference with Brunei his counterpart Dato Erywan Pehin Yusof, adding that that country was currently coordinating cooperation between the EU and the Alliance of South-East Asian Nations.

Szijjártó noted that the visit was the first to Hungary by a foreign minister of Brunei and, as such, was a landmark of bilateral diplomacy, according to a ministry statement. He said the centre of the global economy was shifting more and more to the east, while “the EU has become seriously isolated in recent years from the greatest players in global politics and the economy”.

The EU “isolated itself from the United States as European politicians compete with one another in defaming President Donald Trump; it became isolated from the Chinese economy owing to its duties on electric vehicles; it isolated itself from Russia thanks to its position on the war; and it became isolated from Africa, a continent of the future, by making economic cooperation conditional on all kinds of so called progressive expectations,” Szijjártó said.

The minister noted Hungary’s efforts during its EU presidency last year to conclude a partnership and cooperation deal with Brunei and give momentum to talks on a free trade agreement with ASEAN, adding that whatever the case, bilateral ties should be built between Hungary and Brunei.

“Here we can focus on the areas of energy efficiency, the food industry, medical technology and the fight against climate change,” he said. He also noted that the first students from Brunei are starting their studies in Hungary under a new scholarship scheme.

Szijjártó said Brunei also belonged to the international peace camp, and “shares the position that armed conflicts should be resolved through diplomacy”. Hungary and Brunei “jointly support peace efforts” concerning the war in Ukraine and “support international politics returning to a basis of mutual respect,” he added.