“Hungary and Estonia have always been stable, strong and committed allies to each other”, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó said following negotiations with his Estonian counterpart in Budapest on Wednesday.

“In stormy times like those currently experienced in both Europe and the world, stable and dependable partners are required: Hungary and Estonia are such partners. Our friendship, which has always had both pragmatic and emotional foundations, is now even more valuable”, the Minster stressed at the press conference following the meeting.

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“This year marks the 25th anniversary of the re-establishment of diplomatic relations between Hungary and the Baltic States. The Baltic countries have a priority place in Hungarian foreign policy in view of the fact that cooperation with them is extremely important”, he added.

According to Mr. Szijjártó, now that the Euro-Atlantic alliance is facing serious challenges, cooperation within NATO is also becoming more important. Hungary contributed to protecting the air space of the Baltic States and is maintaining its presence in the region following the end of the mission, he said, adding that both Hungary and Estonia support further NATO expansion and are urging NATO to keep its doors open to prospective new members because this is important to maintaining credibility.

With relation to the immigration crisis, the Foreign Minister spoke about the fact that that both countries are defending important common borders and regard this task as vital. “It is good that every EU leader is now also making statements to this effect; this wasn’t always the case”, he pointed out.

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Mr. Szijjártó thanked his Estonian colleague for being one of the few European politicians to always make statements about Hungary in a correct and balanced fashion and based solely on the facts instead of “jumping on the bandwagon of countries who denounce the country by profession”.

The Minister also mentioned the fact that in view of the new situation that has arisen thanks to the measures implemented by Western Balkan countries, the Hungarian Government no longer sees a specific need for a comprehensive, general agreement between the EU and Turkey. However, Turkey, Jordan, Lebanon and Kurdish region must be provided with assistance in view of the huge numbers of refugees cared for in these countries, he said.

Mr. Szijjártó also declared that the survival of the Schengen Area is vital, all possible measures must be implemented to assure this and Hungary rejects the idea of a “mini Schengen”.

On the subject of bilateral relations, the Foreign Minister told reporters that trade turnover had increased by 37 percent last year, but the volume of trade is still too low and so the two countries are now concentrating on joint investment, trade and infrastructure projects. 100 Hungarian and Baltic companies are being represented at Wednesday’s Hungarian-Baltic Business Forum.

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An official announcement would be made in April concerning the fact that a large Estonian company that applies and develops electronics solutions will be bringing its service centre to Budapest and creating hundreds of new jobs, the Minister also told reporters.

With regard to energy security, Mr. Szijjártó stressed the importance of the north-south energy corridors and rejected the application of double standards by EU institutions concerning the projects.

The two countries will also be supporting each other’s applications for various posts within the United Nations, he noted.

Estonian Minister of Foreign Affairs Marina Kaljurand stressed that Hungarian-Estonian relations are excellent, but can still be improved, which is what the parties are now working on. The Estonian Foreign Minister said Hungary was a reliable and solid ally in NATO and welcomed the fact that the country had taken part in protecting Estonian air-space and has undertaken a role in the work of the Cyber Defence Centre (CCDCOE) in Tallinn.

Ms. Kaljurand also spoke about preparations for the NATO summit in Warsaw. “It is important that the meeting is filled with genuine content”, she said. “Estonia supports NATO’s open doors policy, because every country has the right to choose its allies if it meets the required conditions”, she stated.

“It has been a long time since Europe has had to face so many challenges as it does now, and this is why it is now especially important that Europe should remain unified and maintain solidarity. Estonia is doing everything possible to help solve the migration crisis and it fulfilling its undertakings”, she explained. “Europe can solve these problems together”, the Estonia Foreign Minister declared.

Prior to the press conference, Péter Szijjártó and Marina Kaljurand signed an inter-ministerial cooperation agreement.

(Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade)