Péter Szijjártó, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade, said the foreign ministerial meeting of the European Union and the Arab states of the Gulf bears historic importance in light of the latest developments in the Middle East.
Minister Szijjártó expressed hope on Facebook that “all European participants will strike a sincere and respectful voice, and they will not use Tuesday’s meeting to criticise or lecture”. Minister Szijjártó said that ahead of bilateral talks with his Arab counterparts. The first meeting was held with the host country’s foreign minister Sayyid Badr Albusaidi, “who has already done much for the development of bilateral relations and decided to set up an embassy in Budapest”. The chargé d’affaires had already arrived and were making preparations for the embassy, he added. Tuesday’s meeting focused on energy cooperation between Oman and Hungary, he said. Hungary is dedicated to establishing the conditions for sustainable and environmentally friendly energy use, but the government has made it clear that progress must be made at a sensible pace, without damaging the competitiveness of the economy, he said. Developments linked to green hydrogen offer a good opportunity, he said. “Oman is one of the global leaders in green hydrogen development, so it’s a great success for us that Hungary has become Oman’s first central European partner in green hydrogen research and development on the basis of the agreement signed today,” Minister Szijjártó added.
On another note, after meeting his Bahrain counterpart Abdullatif bin Rashid Al Zayani, the foreign minister said achievements in peacemaking in the Middle East must be preserved. Minister Szijjártó said on Facebook that Zayani was a key player in the peacemaking process in the Middle East. “He made a historic act in 2020 when he signed the Abraham Accords with Israel,” Minister Szijjártó said. The agreement brought the hope for sustainable peace in the Middle East after decades of suffering, he added. He said the horrific events of recent days posed a threat to the achievements of past peacemaking efforts. “We were in agreement with my friend Abdullatif today that past achievements must be preserved, successes must not be forgotten, and all global efforts must be focused on preventing escalation and an accompanying humanitarian crisis,” he said. The minister also had talks with his Kuwaiti, Omani and Saudi counterparts, and Qatar’s state minister for foreign affairs. They agreed that the international community must focus on preventing escalation.