Hungary pledges to work for closer EU – UAE relations under EU Presidency

Hungary, as president of the EU in the second half of the year, will work to promote closer ties between the European Union and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Péter Szijjártó, the minister of foreign affairs and trade, said after meeting his UAE counterpart in Budapest on Tuesday.

Szijjártó welcomed the visit by Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, noting that the sheik last paid an official visit to Hungary eight years ago, the foreign ministry said in a statement.

Sheikh Abdullah’s current visit is of particular importance for several reasons, Szijjártó said, adding that “responsible countries” such as the UAE played a stabilising role in its region amid today’s severe challenges around the world.

The foreign minister appreciated the UAE‘s role in brokering the Abraham Accords, and expressed hope that the Middle East would soon return to “the spirit of the agreement”.

He welcomed that the UAE has joined “the club of nuclear energy,” which he said “will open new horizons” in Hungarian-UAE ties in training and research. He noted that nuclear reactors have been operating in Hungary for more than fifty years.

Szijjártó said Hungary had always held UAE in high regard for its role in fighting terrorism. “This is rather important from the point of view of the security of the region and the world,” he said.

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