Successful first joint Hungarian-Georgian government meeting

Hungary strongly supports Georgia’s EU membership which is also in the interest of Europe, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán told a press conference in Telavi, after a joint Hungarian-Georgian cabinet meeting in the city on Thursday.

Orbán highlighted Georgia’s centuries-long fight for Christianity, and its “fantastic” development in recent years.

The prime minister said that the global situation had “never been as bad in the past 30 years” but added that both Hungary and Georgia shared the view that “peace is better than war”.

Each international conflict should be concluded with peace as soon as possible, but “the world is far from that”, he said.

Hungary committed supporter of Georgia EU membership

Hungary supports granting Georgia an EU candidate status because it deems that to be just,

Orbán said, adding that in order for maintaining its competitiveness, Europe would need such a fast developing country as Georgia.

Orbán said the European Union’s competitiveness had been saved through the accession of central European countries, which he said was “proof that if Europe rejects peoples willing to work and develop, it will pay through losing its competitiveness”.

Connecting the EU with the Caucasian region is in the interest in Europe, and “linking up with Georgia is the easiest way in that,” Orbán said. “That is why we were extremely sad, even angry, when we saw that Georgia was rejected a candidate member status, whereas countries obviously far behind Georgia in terms of development had been granted that status,” he said.

The European Union should decide if enlargement is “conditional on political merits”. if so, Georgia’s treatment has not been fair and “should be remedied without delay,” he said.

On another subject, Orbán said Europe’s energy system could not be modernised without involving Georgia, adding that building an Azerbaijan-Georgia-Romania-Hungary green energy corridor was crucial for the EU, too. That project will contribute to each participant’s economic growth, he added.

Meanwhile, Orbán said bilateral agreements had been signed on cooperation in the areas of agriculture, water management, pharmaceuticals, finance and economy.

The “deepest foundation” of the friendship of Hungary and Georgia is their Christian traditions, he said. Preserving Christian traditions is a precondition for Europe’s competitiveness, he added.

The first Hungarian-Georgian cabinet meeting in Telavi, Georgia. Photo: MTI

PM Garibashvili: Hungary’s government “being a true friend of Georgia

Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili said Thursday’s joint cabinet meeting was “of historic importance” in bilateral ties. He expressed thanks for Hungary’s government “being a true friend of Georgia” and for supporting his country’s territorial integrity and EU integration.

“Our countries share traditional and everlasting values,”

Garibashvili said and thanked the Hungarian prime minister for contributing to the protection of those values.

“Hungarians are lucky that in such hard times they have such a strong and patriotic leader that serves the interests of his people only,” he added.

As we wrote before, Batumi, the four-season Georgian tourist destination, presented in Budapest, details HERE.

Economic development minister signs cooperation pact with Georgian partner

Márton Nagy, the minister of economic development, signed a cooperation agreement with Levan Davitashvili, deputy prime minister of Georgia, on the sidelines of a joint Hungarian-Georgian cabinet meeting in Tbilisi on Thursday, the ministry said in a statement.

The two sides agreed that relations between Hungary and Georgia should be deepened and broadened, with special focus on future-oriented technologies such as artificial intelligence and Industry 4.0 solutions. Bilateral trade has come close to 90 million US dollars and the aim is to increase this further, it said.

The agreement focuses on the application of emerging digital technologies in industry, cooperation in the development of AI, the data economy, Big Data, 5G networks, BlockChain and drone technologies, partnership in workforce training policies and sharing best practices, industrial cooperation in railway and road vehicle manufacturing and in the pharmaceutical and medical equipment sectors.

During the day, the two countries’ finance ministers signed cooperation agreements on electronic taxation and debt management in Tsinandali, the Hungarian finance ministry said.

Under the agreement on e-taxation, Hungary will share know-how with Georgia on processing personal income tax returns, tills connected to the tax office and new methods regarding vehicle taxes.

Measures rolled out by Hungarian tax authorities to put a squeeze on the grey economy that have garnered international attention could benefit Georgia’s tax office, too, the Hungarian finance minister said.

The agreement on an exchange of experience regarding Hungary’s strategy to boost the share of state debt held by households could encourage Georgia to weigh a similar scheme, Mihály Varga added.

Source: MTI