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Prime Minister Orbán: "An ambitious new energy cooperation is taking shape"

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán signs a strategic partnership agreement with Prime Minister of Georgia Irakli Garibashvili

Prime Minister Viktor Orbán was visited by his Georgian counterpart Irakli Garibashvili in Budapest today, signing a large-scale energy cooperation treaty between the two countries. The treaty aims to construct a new, huge electricity pipeline to bring energy from Azerbaijan to Hungary via Georgia and Romania to replace the large quantities of natural gas that are currently used to create electricity in Hungary.

During the visit, Prime Minister Orbán called the rejection of Georgia’s EU membership status "inexplicable, morally unacceptable and damaging," referring to Ukraine and Moldova getting accepted as potential candidates while Georgia was not.

PM Orbán also stated that Georgia had earned the candidate status through its hard work over the past years and that Brussels' rejection was disrespectful to the Georgian people and nation.

Georgia's main objective is to become a candidate country for EU membership and then to become a member, Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili said during the press conference. He expressed his gratitude for Hungary's support in pursuing this goal and for its support for the territorial integrity of his country. Garibashvili said that Georgia is currently working on the implementation of the European Council's proposals and that its economy has been growing at double-digit rates year after year.

Prime Minister Garibashvili welcomed the strategic partnership between the two countries and said Georgia would support the energy project, which is very important for Hungary. He added that his country was taking examples from successful reforms in Hungary and expressed his gratitude for the scholarships of Georgian university students in Hungary as well.