Visit of the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade of Hungary to Minsk

On May 29, 2024 the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Belarus, Sergei Aleinik, and the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade of Hungary, Péter Szijjártó, held talks in Minsk.

In a one-on-one format, the Foreign Ministers discussed a wide range of issues on the bilateral and international agenda, regional issues, including the situation in Ukraine. The sides exchanged views on current economic projects and identified priority areas of cooperation for the coming year. The main emphasis was placed on strengthening trade, economic and investment interaction, industrial cooperation, implementation of joint projects in agriculture.

The sides stressed the mutual interest in continuing active contacts and developing partnership ties at the interstate and intersectoral levels, between representatives of business and citizens of the two countries. The Ministers stated that Belarus and Hungary share the conviction that they have common economic interests and significant unrealized potential of bilateral cooperation. “We are similar in our understanding of how we can and should build cooperation, in the need to find mutually acceptable solutions and mutually beneficial projects” Aleinik said.

During the 12th meeting of the Belarusian-Hungarian Intergovernmental Commission on Economic Cooperation chaired by the Ministers, the parties analyzed the results of joint work over the past year, discussed prospects and priority areas for further development of economic cooperation, including in agriculture, construction, energy, healthcare, education, science, tourism spheres.

The parties confirmed that constructive communication at the political level gives a positive signal of cooperation between business circles. There were many such signals last year. The most important event in this period, which undoubtedly strengthened all the agreements reached at the last meeting of the Commission and helped to advance the rich bilateral agenda, was the meeting of the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade of Hungary, Péter Szijjártó, with the President of the Republic of Belarus, Aleksandr Lukashenko, in October 2023.

As a result of negotiations, the sides signed the Protocol of the Commission, the Programme of Cooperation between the Foreign Ministries of Belarus and Hungary for 2024-2025, the Memorandum of Understanding between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade of Hungary and the Ministry of Energy of the Republic of Belarus on deepening cooperation in the field of nuclear energy. As part of the visit, the Hungarian Foreign Minister held separate talks with the Minister of Energy of the Republic of Belarus, Viktor Karankevich.

On the same day, the Belarusian-Hungarian Business Forum was held with the support of the National Centre for Marketing and Price Study and the Hungarian Export Development Agency.

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