“For Europe and the Middle East to establish a balanced and well-functioning cooperation, there exists only one path: violence must be stopped, direct negotiations between Israel and Palestine must begin and the two-state solution must be realised”, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó said following talks with his Palestinian counterpart, Riyad al-Malki.
At the press conference following the meeting, Mr. Szijjártó stressed: none of this van come into being if the international community abandons the parties. International involvement is required and accordingly Hungary supports all initiatives that could result in the recommencement of the region’s peace process with international involvement. Only a political solution is acceptable, and hopefully the parties affected will also bear that in mind, he added.
It has been years since a Palestinian Foreign Minister visited Budapest and so the current visit is particularly significant, especially in view of the fact that Europe’s security situation has not been this bad since the end of the Second World War, the Minister pointed out. One of the main reasons for this is that the security situation in the regions neighbouring Europe is continuously worsening and the fact that the Middle East peace process has suffered several recent failures has also contributed to this trend, he explained.
It is in Europe’s interests for peace and security to be established in the Middle East as soon as possible, and this is not just a political and security interest, but also an economic interest, because balanced and well-functioning cooperation requires peace and security, Mr. Szijjártó said.
On the subject of economic cooperation, the Hungarian Foreign Minister told the press that the Hungarian-Palestinian Business Forum would be held for the first time later today with the participation of one hundred businesspeople. It is important to Hungary that Palestine has decided to diversify its food industry and agriculture imports, which could provide opportunities for Hungarian agriculture and food industry enterprises. There are also opportunities for cooperation in water management projects and Budapest Waterworks is ready to become involved, he said, adding that the planned project to connect the Red Sea and the Dead Sea by canal is a major development project in which several Hungarian companies could become involved.
Mr. Szijjártó also mentioned the fact that Hungary continues to support the provision of further humanitarian and development aid to Palestinian territories and is supporting the European Commission’s decision to assemble a 286 million US Dollar aid package. Hungary is also doing its part, having provided 360 million forints (EUR 1.15M) in government aid to Palestine in recent years, in addition to which it is providing more scholarships to enable 50 Palestinian students to attend Hungarian universities from September, he said, adding that Hungary has also sent medical equipment to the hospital in Bethlehem.
Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad al-Malki highlighted the importance of developing Hungarian-Palestinian relations and said that there are many opportunities for cooperation between the two countries, adding that he hoped visits by the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the two countries would be more frequent in future.
Mr. al-Malki welcomed the fact that Hungary is providing more scholarships to Palestinian students and pointed out that Hungary had also contributed to the costs of rebuilding the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem.
The two Foreign Ministers will both make speeches at the Hungarian-Palestinian Business Forum later today.
(Cabinet Office of the Prime Minister/MTI)
