Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has held independent talks with leaders from Greece, Turkey and Croatia to discuss bilateral relations and the European Union.
PM Orbán met with the President of Croatia Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović to dicuss the importance of Central European cooperation. During the meeting, also attended by Péter Szijjártó, minister of Foreign Affiars and Trade, the parties agreed that the countries in the region must cooperate in debates about the future of Europe.
The two leaders also welcomed the fact that the state of minorities is good in both countries. Also on the agenda were the unresolved debates between Hungary and Croatia, in relation to which both the Hungarian prime minister and the Croatian president confirmed their previously stated standpoints, the prime minister's press office announced.
PM Orbán also met with the Deputy Prime Minister of Turkey Recep Akdağ to discuss economic cooperation and the state of Europe. During that meeting, also attended by Minister Szijjártó, the parties agreed that, in the light of data from the first two quarters of 2017, it is realistic to expect that bilateral trade between the two countries could reach 3 billion USD.
They also discussed the most important challenges facing Europe, and the parties agreed that Hungarian-Turkish business cooperation should be maintained in third markets – primarily in Africa.
The third and final meeting was held with the prime minister of Greece Alexis Tsipras where the leaders discussed the current challenges facing the European Union.
PM Orbán took Tsipras on a tour of the Parliament Building, and they had a working lunch, which was also attended by Minister Szijjártó.
Among other issues discussed by the parties were cooperation between the Central European and Balkan regions, future relations between Turkey and the EU, and measures to increase the volume of Hungarian-Greek trade.