10 September 2019, Budapest

Good afternoon, Ladies and Gentlemen,

It is a privilege to greet President Hofer, who has honoured us with this visit. This was a very important meeting now at the beginning of the political season, and therefore I sincerely regard this visit to be an honour. There is a background to it, as we have known each other for quite some time, and we greatly appreciate the work done by the Freedom Party as a governing party in recent years. In this regard we have built very close relations at governmental level. We have learnt that we have similar views on a number of issues. At today’s meeting we wanted to confirm that we continue to agree on some important questions. I know that we are currently in a sensitive period, because there will after all be elections in Austria, and the path that has led to those elections is also a highly sensitive one. We do not wish to interfere in the Austrian elections in any way, as it is the Austrian people who must decide about Austria, but there are some things that together we would like to confirm. First of all, we are committed to cooperation. We agree that each country is important for the other. Austria continues to be an extremely important country for Hungary – I could say a strategic and historical partner – and therefore we have an interest in Austria’s success. We hope that a strong and stable government comes into being after the election. We have an interest in Austria continuing the work of the previous government by continuing to take a determined stance on the issue of terrorism, and rejecting it in every form. It should continue to reject political Islam, and help us to defend Europe from migrants. As I see it, there is agreement between us on these issues. I wish the President a successful election, followed by the successful formation of a government. May Austria remain an eminent and stable partner to Hungary.

(miniszterelnok.hu)