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Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s press statement after the 16+1 Summit between Central and Eastern European countries and China [full text in English]

November 5, 2016, Riga

It is an honour, Ladies and Gentlemen, for Hungary to be able to host the next summit. Our Latvian friends have set the bar high. Premier Li Keqiang said that China and Latvia are almost neighbouring countries, as there is only one country between them. That is something which we cannot compete with. An area we can compete on, however, is language: the Hungarian language’s mystery and incomprehensibility to outsiders at least matches the difficulties the Latvian language presents them with.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

We are convinced that the cooperation between the Sixteen and China is in the best interests of the whole of the European Union. We all know that the European Union is struggling with the problem of economic stagnation. Isolating ourselves would be the worst response. We believe that we must open up, and clearly it is beneficial for us to open up towards China, the world’s most successful economy. Hungary is committed to European cooperation with China, and will therefore be a good host for the next event. We shall do everything in our power to make the summit in Hungary at least as successful as the meeting in Latvia. Budapest welcomes you all.

Thank you for your attention.