As Viktor Orbán also noted in his regular Friday morning interview earlier today, the Budapest Athletics World Championship comes with a diplomatic summit, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó announced on Friday. Numerous leaders are arriving for working visits in the coming days, including the Presidents of Serbia, Turkey, Azerbaijan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, and the Emir of Qatar.
At an extraordinary press conference, the minister referred to this event as a great collective success for all Hungarians, highlighting that Budapest is now ready to host one of the world’s largest sporting events thanks to environmentally friendly, sustainable, and large-scale sports infrastructure developments.
He emphasised the significance of the event in today’s world, where amidst conflicts and wars, sports can pave the way for cooperation, and this time
Hungary hosts a celebration of international connections and collaborations.
He pointed out Hungary’s successful track record in hosting major events, such as the World Aquatics Championships, the European Football Championships, the European Handball Championships, and Formula 1 races.
‘The world’s division is bad news, but I believe that the good news, the news of connections, can be best carried by sports,’ he stated.
Szijjártó reported that the ‘Queen of Sports’ diplomatic summit is bringing foreign leaders to Budapest, including the Presidents of Turkey, Azerbaijan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, and Turkmenistan from the Turkic Council, as well as several Western Balkan leaders, including the Presidents of Serbia and the Republika Srpska in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and representatives from the Bosnian Presidency. Additionally, the Emir of Qatar and former Czech, Austrian, and Slovenian prime ministers will also be present.
He highlighted that the focus of the talks at the prime ministerial level will be on three main topics, all related to the security of Hungary, Central Europe, and the entire continent: energy supply, physical security (including the situation in Ukraine), and addressing economic challenges. He underscored that Qatar has become the world’s leading LNG exporter and, while its capacities are currently fully committed, discussions are ongoing for
the possibility of Hungary purchasing liquefied natural gas from Qatar starting from 2027.
Regarding energy supply, the Presidents of Azerbaijan, Turkey, Turkmenistan, and Serbia will discuss key questions, particularly highlighting Turkey’s role as a transit state for natural gas and its increasing importance. There are also advanced negotiations about the supply of Turkish gas to Hungary. ‘If everything goes as we currently foresee, after the negotiations on 20 August, we will be able to report on concrete agreements,’ he announced.
He mentioned that 100 million cubic metres of gas will arrive from Azerbaijan this year, and an agreement has been reached for 50 million cubic metres of gas to be stored in Hungary. The injection of this gas has already begun, establishing a real physical gas transport link between the two countries. ‘Therefore, the diversification efforts we have been talking about for a long time are now starting to become a reality,’ he declared.
Szijjártó revealed that comprehensive energy cooperation discussions are ongoing with Turkmenistan, aiming to
make Hungary one of the destination countries for future Turkmen gas exports.
Regarding Serbia, he stated that a Hungarian-Serbian regional gas trading company has been established and is set to begin operations in September, contributing to regional energy security.
He also addressed the issue of the Republika Srpska in Bosnia and Herzegovina, expressing concern about serious Western efforts to undermine the elected leaders of the entity. He rejected the intervention and pressure on the elected Serbian leader by international liberal mainstream actors, particularly concerning the functioning of the Bosnian Constitutional Court.
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Source: Hungarian Conservative/MTI
