Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has met with the foreign ministers of Turkic Council member states in Budapest to build relations and discuss the latest pressing issues in politics.
Parties present at the meeting agreed that building on a shared Hungarian-Turkic cultural and historical heritage, cooperation between Hungary and the Council’s countries will benefit.
The PM’s press chief Bertalan Havasi said they welcomed the opening of the Turkic Council’s office in Budapest earlier in the day, calling the event a milestone in EU-Turkic ties. Hungary received observer status in the Council in 2018.
At another event, Péter Szijjártó, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade, accepted a jubilee medal from Elmar Mammadyarov, Azerbaijan’s foreign minister. Minister Szijjártó was presented with the medal at an event celebrating the 100th anniversary of the establishment of Azerbaijan’s diplomatic service.
Minister Szijjártó said Hungarian and Azeri leaders “can always be honest to each other, and so our cooperation is efficient.” Hungary is committed to keeping up the good relations, he added. Mammadyarov said the medal is an acknowledgement of Szijjártó’s “friendly openness” towards Azerbaijan. Azerbaijan awards the medal to persons with outstanding achievements in promoting Azerbaijan’s diplomatic and international relations.
Minister Szijjártó also held talks with Chingiz Aidarbekov, his Kyrgyz counterpart, where they agreed that Hungary would open a consular office in Bishkek next year. Kyrgyzstan will appoint an honorary consul in Hungary. Parties at the talks finalized the wording of an agreement aimed at mutual investment protection and started negotiations concerning another accord to avoid double taxation. Aidarbekov confirmed his country’s support to Hungary’s endeavors to become a member of UNESCO’s executive council.
Photo credit: Magyar Nemzet