Hungary will continue to support Spain’s territorial integrity, says foreign minister
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Spain is an important partner for Hungary, Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó said after talks with Josep Borrell, his Spanish counterpart, in Budapest on Monday, noting that both countries are members of the European Union and NATO.
After the talks, Szijjártó said Hungary has supported and will continue to support Spain’s territorial integrity given that Hungary itself is “sensitive to such issues in light of its history”.
Borrell extended an invitation to Szijjártó for talks on infrastructure development in Hungary, particularly regarding Hungarian plans to introduce high-speed rail services.
Szijjártó noted that Spanish is taught in more than a hundred Hungarian schools and there are Spanish courses at four universities.
In recent years, foreign ministry officials from each country have participated in a diplomatic exchange programme.
He said Spanish and Hungarian responses to the historical challenges faced by the EU are the same in some areas while Hungary thinks differently as regards others. But divergent views can be managed through dialogue and mutual respect rather than conflict, he added.
Hungary does not want to host illegal migrants and instead emphasises the importance of protecting the external borders and the nation’s sovereign rights in this area, but both countries attach great importance to African development programmes, he said, adding that Hungary is offering its water management resources accordingly.
Szijjártó also said Hungary’s expenditure of more than 1 billion euros on protecting the EU’s external borders was a form a solidarity.