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Regarding the cooperation, the Hungarian Prime Minister said in the language of diplomacy it was an expression of the closest amicable, brotherly and political cooperation.
Mr Orbán also said the Hungarians had lost the century before, and now the plan was to not lose the 21st century, but to win it, and for this they were looking for allies.
This is what the priority strategic status is about, he pointed out, adding that in the future they will want to cooperate with each other as closely as possible between two peoples and two countries.
In a joint statement released together with the Turkish President, the Hungarian Prime Minister took the view that this was a serious commitment which they had undertaken in the hope that everything that was laid down in the Turkish President’s programme – namely that the next one hundred years will be Turkey’s – would come true.
Mr Orbán announced that during its EU presidency, Hungary will do everything it can to modernise the customs union between the EU and Turkey, and Hungary will also support Turkey on the issue of visa liberalisation.
Regarding the economic relations of the two countries, he highlighted that in the past more than 10 years, they had doubled the volume of goods trade, as many as 500 Turkish businesses were present in Hungary and there were 100 Hungarian companies in Turkey. He added that Turkish investments in Hungary were continuously increasing, both in number and value, and these had also been extended to new areas, including the conclusion of agreements on railway developments and the defence industry.
The Hungarian Prime Minister emphasised the role of Turkey also from the viewpoint of Hungary’s security and energy security. He said Hungary is not safe without Turkey, we are unable to curb migration posing a threat to Hungary without Turkey.
He also said in the Russo-Ukrainian war, Turkey is the only country to date that has been able to achieve results in the restoration of peace and the grain agreement, while Turkey has also taken command of the KFOR forces in which 465 Hungarian soldiers serve.
In the context of energy security, the Prime Minister said they had agreed not only to transport natural gas via Turkey, but to also buy gas from Turkey.
He indicated that the parties would further develop cooperation between the universities of the two countries. Hungary will provide 200 state scholarship grants for Turkish students, and as diplomatic relations were established a hundred years ago, next year will be dedicated to culture, while the year 2025 has been declared a year of Hungarian scientific and innovation cooperation.
The short-term programme is specific, medium-term programmes are attractive, while on strategic issues and on an historical scale, there is agreement between the two countries regarding the underlying objectives and intentions, the Prime Minister said in summary, taking the view that they will elevate relations between the two countries “to heights that we have never before reached.”
The Turkish President, who came to Hungary to attend the meeting of the Hungarian-Turkish High Level Strategic Cooperation Council, signed a joint political declaration with Prime Minister Viktor Orbán about priority strategic partnership between Hungary and Turkey.
Additionally, Hungarian and Turkish ministers also signed agreements, inter alia, on social services, the Hungarian-Turkish year of innovation, research and development, defence and foreign affairs cooperation, nuclear energy cooperation, cooperation in the area of civil emergencies as well as cooperation in audiovisual policy and governmental communication.
The two countries will celebrate the 100th anniversary of the establishment of the Republic of Türkiye and the establishment of Hungarian-Turkish diplomatic relations with a Hungarian-Turkish cultural year beginning on 18 December which will last for a year, involving events organised in both countries.
