Péter Szijjártó, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade, said NATO must strengthen its counter-terrorism activities with a view to ensuring unimpeded East-West trade, adding that European economic interests depended on smooth trade.
“The challenge posed by global terrorism is becoming ever more serious,” the foreign minister told a press conference after a meeting of the NATO Council of Foreign Ministers in Brussels, adding that terrorism threatened global security and trade, as well as East-West relations. Hungary, he said, did not want a world “divided into blocs again”, and East-West cooperation should be as dense as possible. But connections that are key for Hungary and the Hungarian economy “are seriously threatened by terrorism in the Red Sea”, he added. Referring to Houthi rebels operating off the shores of Yemen, Szijjártó said the terrorist organisation must not be allowed to cause “serious economic problems” for European businesses “after the economic shocks caused by the coronavirus and the war in Ukraine”. Noting that cooperation with the Pacific region was among the topics of discussion at the meeting with representatives from Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand, he said Hungary maintained close economic cooperation with countries of the Far East. Investments from the region “contribute significantly to the growth of the Hungarian economy, so for us, the smoothness of East-West trade is a key issue. So we stand for strengthening NATO’s counter-terrorism stance,” the minister concluded.
Earlier, Minister Szijjártó said Hungary is a “proud and reliable” member of the world’s strongest defence alliance. Speaking at a celebration of the 75th anniversary of the foundation of NATO in Brussels, he pledged Hungary’s continued contribution to the security of the Euro-Atlantic community. He said Hungary’s NATO membership “is a coronation of the desire and struggle for freedom of generations of Hungarians.” Twenty-five years ago, in 1999, Hungary was able to re-join “the community of free and sovereign nations of the Euro-Atlantic world, where we always belonged at heart … but forty years of communist oppression kept us physically away from it,” he said. “We are proud of our predecessors, who never gave up hope, not even in the darkest years of communist dictatorship, when the Hungarian people were left completely alone,” the minister said. “Today, we are proud members of the world’s strongest defence alliance. And we are also proud to be a reliable ally, contributing to the security of our community,” Szijjártó said.