Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Peter Szijjarto said on Tuesday that economic cooperation between Hungary and Bahrain is entering a new chapter, with Hungarian exports and investments in Bahrain growing rapidly.
Closer ties with the Gulf region could give the European Union new impetus, he said after a meeting of the Hungarian-Bahrain Joint Economic Committee, adding that the government was keen to strike a deal with the region on free trade and visa exemptions. He added that he supports it.
Szijjarto told a press conference that Hungary has a partial visa exemption agreement with Bahrain, and talks on investment protection are also underway.
The European Commission has approved the text of the investment protection agreement and it could be signed soon, the ministry said.
The minister mentioned two important chemical industry projects led by Hungarian oil and gas company MOL, which he said have “reached the finish line in Bahrain.” The project will increase the efficiency of local natural gas extraction, and the rubber asphalt produced by MOL will also be used in construction and infrastructure development.
He added that Bahraini businesses are increasingly leveraging Hungarian IT solutions, especially regarding online payment platforms.
Meanwhile, he said Bahrain has always promoted the cause of peace and could be relied upon in the global fight against terrorism.
Mr. Szijjarto praised Bahrain’s signing of the Abraham Accords on the normalization of relations between Israel and Arab countries, adding that he hoped that it would be possible to return to the path of peaceful coexistence.
In response to a question, Szijjarto said that holding a Hungarian-Ukrainian summit would only make sense if it was possible to open a new chapter in bilateral relations, adding that by then both countries had “a lot of work to do.” There are a lot of them,” he added.
“There is a long way to go before a high-level meeting can be held, but we are ready to do this work together,” Szijjarto said, according to a statement from the ministry.
“We took some important steps yesterday,” he said. “In the coming days and weeks, the Intergovernmental Working Group on Education will have to carry out work to restore the rights that Hungarian communities in Transcarpathia enjoyed in 2015.”
The minister said, “We are working to ensure the success of infrastructure development connecting the two countries and to ensure that transportation development in the border areas progresses.” “Once these are fully completed, it could lead to a new chapter and a new era…and once that is complete, it makes sense to discuss when and where to hold a high-level meeting.”
Regarding this week’s special EU summit, Szijjarto said Hungary still believes that wars cannot be resolved on the battlefield and that ceasefires and peace negotiations are needed instead of arms donations.
“And that’s exactly why I don’t think spending billions more euros to allow the war to continue is a good proposition,” he said. “However, we understand that most EU member states are in a state of war psychosis. Therefore, one compromise could be to decide annually on financial aid to Ukraine subject to unanimity. I don’t know.”
Regarding the ratification of Sweden’s membership in NATO, the minister said that Parliament would reconvene for its spring session at the end of February and MPs would be able to schedule a vote, so they decided to convene a special session for the vote. He said there was no point. So let’s talk about that.