“Hungary, the Hungarian government and the Hungarian Prime Minister are viewed with obvious respect, appreciation and approval in the White House in Washington”, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó declared on his Facebook page on Tuesday evening.

Mr. Szijjártó issued the statement after being the only European Union foreign minister to have been invited to attend the official signing of the peace agreements between Israel and the United Arab Emirates, and Bahrein, on the White House lawn on Tuesday afternoon. According to the Minister, the event could be entered into the annals of history. “Two agreements have been signed that could open a totally new chapter, and enable war and terrorism to be replaced by peace”, he stated. “This is also important because the security of the Middle East also influences Europe’s security situation”, he added. The Minister said that in his opinion U.S. President Donald Trump has realised a level of performance and succeeded in brokering agreements that not many would have thought possible. During his visit, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade held several meetings, including with National Security Advisor Robert O’Brien and White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows.

“Relations between Hungary and the United States have never been so good. Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and President Donald Trump both speak openly and clearly about their vision, and political correctness and hypocrisy is not characteristic of either, and this is affording an opportunity for excellent cooperation”, Mr. Szijjártó highlighted. “Furthermore, they are both taking determined action against illegal migration, have similar views on the protection of Christian communities and on supporting families, and also agree with relation to global political issues”, he added.

During the Foreign Minister’s visit, an agreement was also concluded between the Hungarian government and a private sector space research company that is registered on the U.S. stock market. With relation to energy issues, Mr. Szijjártó said that in Washington Hungary had received acknowledgement with relation to the fact that it has come to an agreement with Shell on a long-term gas purchasing construction. “It is of priority importance to Hungary that it is able to procure natural gas from as many sources and via as many routes as possible”, the Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade highlighted.

Mr. Szijjártó also met with David Cornstein, who is completing his term as U.S. Ambassador to Budapest and will be returning to the United States in November. With relation to this, the Minister also said that according to his proposal, which has also been accepted by Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, Hungary’s next Ambassador to Washington could be Szabolcs Takács, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade’s current Ministerial Commissioner for handing the foreign policy and foreign trade effects of Brexit with relation to Hungary.

(Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade/MTI)