Azerbaijan and Hungary strengthen strategic relations - briefing by Orban and Aliyev

Baku/30.01.23/Turan: Azerbaijan and Hungary have been actively cooperating and deepening relations for more than 10 years and continue rapprochement. This was stated in Budapest on Monday at a joint briefing with the head of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban.

“Today was not just a meeting of friends, but discussions were held on strategic issues and our strategic relations were raised to a new level,” Orban said.

He noted the presence of great dangers in international relations. The war in the neighborhood and the sanctions of Brussels have created a very dangerous situation for Hungary. The energy security of Hungary and Europe is at a dangerous stage. "This situation significantly increases the importance of Azerbaijan, which has always been our friend, and now has become a strategic partner for all of Europe," Orban said.

In particular, an agreement was signed on the supply of not only gas from Azerbaijan to Europe, but also electricity. Part of this energy will also go to Hungary.

The creation of such an infrastructure will require large investments, and relevant negotiations are already underway with Romania, Bulgaria and Slovakia. Electricity will be supplied to Europe by cable along the bottom of the Black Sea, Viktor Orban noted.

In turn, Ilham Aliyev stressed that the document on strategic cooperation signed today demonstrates the level and nature of bilateral relations.

He recalled the NABUCCO project, which was once conceived to ensure the energy security of Europe, but was postponed because of the high cost. “Despite this, Azerbaijan itself decided the issue of delivering its energy resources to Europe. The project of the Southern Gas Corridor with a length of 3500 km has become an alternative to NABUCCO and solves the problem of European security,” Aliyev said.

Azerbaijan's gas is already supplied to Bulgaria and Romania and will soon come to Hungary and further to other countries.

Green electricity will be another resource that will come to Europe from Azerbaijan through Georgia, Bulgaria and Romania. All this requires serious investments, and Azerbaijan hopes for the participation of the European Commission in the allocation of funds, Aliyev said.

Another project is the use of transport communications for the development of trade relations between Europe and Asian countries. Azerbaijan plays an important role in all these projects due to its geographical location, Aliyev said.

He also expressed hope that Hungary would take part in demining and restoring the liberated territories of Azerbaijan. -02D-