Hungarian-Baltic cooperation is a twenty-five year success story, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó said at a press conference in Budapest on Wednesday.

Following his speech at the Hungarian-Baltic Diplomatic Forum held at the Institutive for Foreign Affairs and Trade, Mr. Szijjártó told reporters: cooperation with the Baltic States has always been at the focus of Hungarian foreign policy. Cooperation is extremely close in three areas: NATO expansion, the importance of protecting Europe’s external borders and eastern partnership, he added.

Hungary’s diplomatic presence in Tallinn will be re-established within one or two weeks, because a diplomat who is already working in Helsinki to further Hungarian-Estonian relations will be transferred to Tallinn to continue his work at the cultural institute there, the Minister announced.

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By the time Estonia takes over the rotating Presidency of the Council of the European Union, we must have a suitable diplomatic representation in Tallinn that facilitates our cooperation with the new Presidency, he said.

On the subject of Hungarian-Baltic cooperation, Mr. Szijjártó explained that one of the best replies to the challenges NATO faces from the East is the Alliance’s further expansion, and accordingly both Hungary and the Baltic States are supporting the preparation of potential new members Bosnia-Hercegovina, Georgia and Macedonia. The Minister also emphasised the importance of protecting the European Union’s external borders, adding that Hungary would not accept the automatization of compulsory re-settlement quotas on the part of any EU institution. Hungary and the Baltic States wish to intensify relations with the countries of the Eastern Partnership, because this will increase the security of their eastern neighbours, he continued.
In his speech at the Forum, the Foreign Minister said Europe had recently had to face several serious and unforeseen challenges and even more serious challenges are expected this year, and it is under these conditions that Hungary and the Baltic States are celebrating the 25th anniversary of the re-establishment of diplomatic relations this year. All three Baltic countries have been a stable and dependable partner to Hungary during the past 25 years, he pointed out.

Relations with the Baltic States have both a pragmatic and emotional basis in view of the fact that their recent history has many common points such as having been oppressed by communist dictatorship, their efforts to regain freedom and the successes achieved within trans-Atlantic integration. Hungary is proud to have participated in protecting the Baltic region’s airspace and is prepared to continue this cooperation, the Minister stated.

Mr. Szijjártó also mentioned the fact that the Eastern Partnership initiative is important to both Hungary and the Baltic States because the region also faces challenges from the east, not just from the south. The Eastern Partnership must be made more effective and successful, something which may also be facilitated by the Belarus Foreign Minster’s visit to Budapest on Thursday, he added.

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At the press conference, Estonian Minister of Foreign Affairs Marina Kaljurand spoke about the fact that Hungary and Estonia are linked by their common past and are once again in a similar situation within the Euro-Atlantic region. They are facing similar challenges, follow a similar set of values and are linked by more strands than ever before, she pointed out, adding that Hungary and Estonia are more than just friends, they are “branches of the same tree”.

(MTI)