Russia is a priority economic, trade and energy partner of Hungary, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó said after the meeting of the Hungarian-Russian inter-governmental economic committee on Wednesday in Budapest.
The Minister, who is also co-chair of the committee, reiterated at the press conference: a decision was adopted on Tuesday on the extension of the sanctions against Russia. Hungary is of the opinion that this decision was made in an incorrect and anti-democratic manner, as the Member States should have discussed the matter at the highest possible level.
He highlighted: Hungary disputes the method in which the decision was adopted, and does not accept that a “decision [on such an extremely important matter] was made in a stealthy manner”. They should have clarified whether the sanctions contributed to the observance of the terms of the Minsk Protocol, and if so, to what extent, he took the view. He added: there is an initiative on the agenda now, based on which the heads of state and government will discuss the issue in the autumn. “In the absence of anything better, Hungary supports” this, and there will be some scope for consultation at least as part of that debate.
The Minister remarked: we should put an end to “hypocritical European politics” as while there is a Brussels decision that appears to be stringent, only last week European politicians had talks with Russia in St. Petersburg regarding economic cooperation.
Mr Szijjártó said: due to developments in European and world politics, there has been a significant decline in bilateral cooperation which has caused the Hungarian economy and Hungarian business severe losses. In the past two and a half years, Hungarian companies have lost export opportunities worth USD 4.5 billion, he added.
The Foreign Minister told the press: the purpose of today’s meeting was to enhance cooperation in every field not affected by the sanctions, and to contribute to maintaining the possibility of rebuilding pragmatic cooperation between the EU and Russia once the political conditions are in place.
He pointed out: they discussed three areas at the meeting. They consulted with respect to energy issues, the investments of Hungarian businesses in Russia, and joint action on third markets. Regarding energy issues, he said: the Paks 2 project is the single most important project from the respect of Hungary’s energy security. They are currently discussing whether MVM Magyar Villamos Művek Zrt. can be involved in a few projects to be implemented by Rosatom elsewhere so that the company can gain relevant experience in the field, he explained. He also reiterated that they have altered the long-term gas procurement agreement which provides for the drawdown of 25 billion cubic metres of gas, and as a result, the country’s safe gas supply is guaranteed up to the end of 2019. The pricing mechanism has been changed in Hungary’s favour, and the parties also decided on the purchase by Hungary of an additional 600 cubic metres over and above the contracted quantity, he said.
Mr Szijjártó highlighted: Hungarian businesses can engage primarily in agricultural projects in Russia. An animal feed manufacturing plant will be built, and they are currently making preparations for the construction of a meat factory.
The Minister additionally informed the press in the context of third markets that a Hungarian-Russian consortium is manufacturing railway carriages in the wake of a tender invited by the Egyptian state railway company. This is a project worth EUR 800-900 million.
Russian Health Minister Veronika Skvortsova, the other co-chair of the committee, stressed: difficult situations cannot foil the growth of Hungarian-Russian cooperation.
Regarding the EU sanctions, she pointed out: economic sanctions are unable to resolve political problems. In fact, they only aggravate the economic situation. Due to the sanctions, bilateral trade decreased by more than 40 per cent in 2015, and this trend also continued at the beginning of this year, she said.
At the same time, the Russian Minister said that the two countries wish to develop their cooperation, and there are projects which are awaiting implementation. She highlighted the importance of agricultural projects and pharmaceutical production, and further welcomed the fact that Hungary is seeking opportunities of cooperation with Russian regions.
Before the press conference, the two ministers signed the protocol of the meeting, and then Mr Szijjártó signed a cooperation agreement with Nikolai Kosov, Chairman of the International Investment Bank regarding cooperation between the Ministry and the Bank. Following this, they also signed a memorandum of understanding on the construction of a health care centre in Novosibirsk.