President of the Republic Tamás Sulyok, inaugurated on 10 March, completed his first diplomatic visit to a foreign country on 23 March, visiting Poland on the Day of Polish⁠–⁠Hungarian Friendship. With that, he followed the example of his predecessor, Katalin Novák, who also made Poland the first foreign country she visited back in May 2022.

President Sulyok also held a joint press conference with his Polish counterpart Andrzej Duda last week in Stary Sącz, Poland. At the conference,

President Duda thanked President Sulyok for making his first diplomatic visit to Poland,

then highlighted their commitment to spending at least 2 per cent of the GDP on defence as NATO member states.

‘I can say with confidence that Poland and Hungary are on the same level. Hungary has long devoted more than 2 per cent of its GDP to defence, currently 3 per cent,’ President Duda said on the subject. He also suggested that the national defence spending requirement should be raised to 3 per cent within the alliance.

The Polish Head of State also talked about the war in the Gaza Strip. He shared his fear that it may trigger another ‘migration crisis’ in Europe. However, he also assured President Sulyok that if that turns out to be the case, Polish authorities will assist Hungary in its border protection efforts.

‘The maintaining and strengthening of dialogue between Poland and Hungary is distinctly important,’

President Sulyok stressed at the conference. He also pointed out that the roots of the Polish⁠–⁠Hungarian friendship go back a thousand years, and reminded that the two Central European nations have had a common fate and common tasks, and this is what has tied the two nations together since the time of Saint Kinga of Poland.

He also stated that he is proud that his country spends more than the required 2 per cent GDP on its armed forces; and that he believes both Poland and Hungary are open to dialogue and cooperation, which is especially important now as they may differ in opinion on some issues. With this latter statement, he was most likely referring to the ongoing Russo⁠–⁠Ukrainian war: Poland has been more aggressive in its rhetoric in helping the embattled Ukrainian side than Hungary since the start of the war.

However, relations between the two nations have remained strong. This is evidenced by the fact that, as President Sulyok pointed out, Poland was Hungary’s third biggest trading partner in 2023. He also shared that there are ‘intense’ relations between the respective legislative bodies of the two countries.

After the conference, President Sulyok visited the grave of Saint Hedwig, the patron saint of Poland of Hungarian ancestry, where he laid a commemorative wreath.

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