President of the Republic Tamás Sulyok of Hungary spoke at a gala at the Gergely Csiki Theatre in Kaposvár, Hungary on Friday, 21 March, the Day of Polish-Hungarian Friendship. President Duda of Poland was also in attendance. At the event, President Sulyok told the audience that the fraternity between the two nations does not only apply to certain periods of history, but it is intertwined with our lives throughout.

It exists not only when mutual interests make it convenient, but it is a permanent and present fact. Therefore, it cannot be destroyed by political scheming, President Sulyok stated.

‘Can Poland forget that its patrons are Hungarian princesses? Can Hungary forget that its greatest general is a Polish freedom fighter? Can we forget that we shed our blood in each other’s fights for freedom? Can we forget the Polish Legion of 1848 or the Hungarian volunteers of the Polish freedom fight? Can we forget the friendship between Henryk Sławik and József Antall Sr that saved thousands of lives? And can we forget standing up for each other in the Revolutions of 1956? I believe we can never, we Hungarians will certainly not forget,’ the President went on to say.

He also praised his Polish counterpart, President Andrzej Duda, serving in office since 2015. President Sulyok described him as a man who, by leading through example, created a flourishing era of Polish–Hungarian relations, which made the already strong bonds between the nations even stronger.

In his speech, Andrzej Duda also addressed current security challenges, underlining the role of regional and transatlantic relations in preserving stability in Poland, Hungary, and Central Europe more broadly. History has taught Poles and Hungarians alike the importance of solidarity, he said, referring to several examples of Polish–Hungarian historical solidarity, including the supply of Hungarian ammunition to Poland during the Polish–Bolshevik War of 1920.

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