5 Jun 2015, Budapest

Your Excellency, Mr. President, Esteemed Guests from Egypt, Ladies and Gentlemen,

I have come here for the very same reason that you have: to listen to the President of Egypt. However, before we hear his speech, allow me as your host to share a few thoughts with you on the talks we had today. I shall not repeat everything I said at the press conference, but I would like to highlight the fact that Hungary is honoured by the President of Egypt’s visit to our country. Hungary believes that Egypt is a special country. This is not only on account of its past, which we all learnt about at school, and not only because of the figures which we have just heard from the Honourable Minister. It is also a special country on account of its geographical location and its political significance. It is no exaggeration to say that without a stable Egypt, there is no stable Mediterranean region, and without a stable Egypt, there is likewise no stability in Europe today. This is because the modern world has brought us so close together that should instability develop in Egypt, we would immediately feel the consequences here, in Europe. This leads us to conclude that we have a vested interest in the success of Egypt. We have an interest in the success of Egypt as a country, we have an interest in the success of the government now in office, and we also have an interest in your success, Mr. President: in the successful completion of the programme you have launched for the advancement of your people and, through that, in the stabilisation of Egypt and, indirectly, of our own lives.

We had a very challenging discussion today with His Excellency the President. This is not because the issues on the agenda were particularly difficult. The agenda was easy enough – it was about business and inter-state agreements, which will be described by later speakers. These agreements, however, were not the issues that occupied us the most, as they had been thoroughly discussed by our colleagues in earlier exchanges. We talked about bigger and higher issues: what could happen in the Arab world; what is happening there now; what the effect and future of Islamic State might be; whether the region can be stabilised at all; whether or not what we Europeans are doing is beneficial for that region; whether or not we are the cause of what is happening there now; whether the road to Hell is really paved with good intentions, and if so, if this applies to us. We reviewed some very difficult questions today, we had a very stimulating discussion, and I wish to thank His Excellency the President for having frankly shared with us his views on the region and on globalisation.

I believe that in Egyptian politics – as well as in Christian European politics – modesty is an imperative. Therefore His Excellency will not mention something which I might allow myself to share with you. Naturally, in politics – and geopolitics – the question “What if…?” is not customarily asked. It is generally believed that asking this question is an absurd thought experiment. But I am going to say that for a moment we should consider the following: what would have happened if President Morsi had not arrived on the scene? What would have happened if President Sisi had not arrived on the scene after President Morsi? What would have happened if the movements which started in Egypt had eventually not taken the turn that they have? What would have happened if there had been no Egyptian army? What would have happened if there had not been a courageous leader to run in the presidential election? What would have happened to Egypt then? And if Egypt had fallen into a state of chaos, what would have happened to the Arab world, and what would have happened to us Europeans? Naturally, we do not know the answers to these questions, although we may guess at them. Nonetheless, despite all the debate, I think it is proper to receive President Sisi in Hungary and in Europe as the man who has agreed to shoulder the responsibility, to make the hardest of decisions, and to bring stability to Egypt. Through stability in Egypt, he may bring stability to the entire region in the future. Mr. President, we wish you the very best success. We are pleased to have you here with us, and we are pleased to have had the opportunity to tell you all this clearly and directly.

There is one other thing which I would like to draw your attention to. I am the younger man, and according to Hungarian custom, it is not appropriate for a younger person to give advice to an older person. Furthermore, my military rank is lower than that of His Excellency; in the army I only made it to the rank of sergeant, and this fact also demands greater courtesy on my part. But I may perhaps be bold enough to share some of my experience with President Sisi. In 2010 Hungary was in very bad shape. At that time I believe that we were not any better off than the Greeks: economic growth figures were terrible, there was a very high rate of inflation, sovereign debt was out of control, the budget was in ruins, and generally we were in great trouble. What I would now like to share with our dear guests and businesspeople from Egypt is my experience that at times like this, everyone is extremely eager to give advice, and one must be very careful about the advice that one chooses to heed. If, for instance, Hungary had heeded the advice that it received from some distinguished people in senior positions, Hungary today would not have one of Europe’s most dynamically growing economies, our finances would not be in good order, and only the Good Lord knows where we would be. We must be very careful in deciding what advice to listen to. The other thing that I would like to tell you is that one must not believe that the only paths which exist are the well-trodden ones which are mapped out in the advice that one is given. What would have happened to us if we had not chosen to seek our own path? Indeed, going further back in the history of the Hungarian economy and Hungarian intellectual achievement, what would have happened if we had believed that the only paths which exist are the ones trodden by others? If we had believed this, a man named Bíró would never have invented the ballpoint pen, a man named Neumann would never have invented the punch-card computer, and a talented Hungarian engineer from Temesvár would never have invented the espresso machine – which would have been a great loss to humanity. What I am saying is that the history of Hungary and of Hungarian intellectual achievement and inventions – but also the history of the Hungarian economy since 2010 – shows us that only those countries have a future which are brave enough to pursue their own paths.

And at this point, we Christians in the West must remind ourselves that it is undoubtedly true that we invented a political system called democracy, and we are satisfied with it, given all its problems and achievements. This system is suitable for regulating our lives one way or another; but I see no evidence that the adoption of Western customs would lead to the same results in other countries as they do in ours. Therefore, however proud we are of our democracy, we must be very cautious of behaving like the world’s schoolmasters and trying to teach lessons on human rights, democracy and similar ideas, because we have no way of knowing whether what we are saying is true or not. And if I look around the Arab world today, I have doubts as to whether it is true. While our attempts to intervene have obviously yielded some results, if you take a closer look they may on the whole have contributed to the problems which exist today. This is something which we should be serious about facing up to. And everything happening today in international politics – including the things which we westerners do – counsels us to exercise moderation and humility. In my opinion, Your Excellency, this is also true of the economy. Naturally one cannot compare Hungary with Egypt, as statistics show that Egypt is an enormous country. Cairo’s population is twice that of all Hungary: the dimensions are of another order. It is not certain that what worked here will also work there, but there is one thing I say with certainty to the honourable members of the business community: Egypt will have a future if it pursues its own path, whatever that may be. Egypt will have a future if it decides on its own future and embarks on brave programmes.

And a final point on this subject: with all due modesty, I would like to draw our attention to something which your President himself confirmed today. This is the factor of time. Political honeymoon periods are very brief – they may last a few years at most. The kind of national unity that was forged in Hungary in 2010 or in Egypt under the leadership of your President in Egypt cannot last for decades unless it is backed up by achievements and success. We only have a short time in which to achieve results. This is the nature of modern politics. Naturally I do not know how to create effective economic policy in Egypt, but I do know that we took account of the limited time we had in Hungary, we were swift, and we accepted the risk of occasional errors rather than lose the precious little time that was at our disposal. It is hard to strike this balance. I can only say to members of the Egyptian business community and representatives of the Government of Egypt that Hungary understands the economic policy that Egypt is testing at present. We understand the pressure of time. We appreciate that there is no time for lengthy bureaucratic procedures and foreign diplomatic manoeuvres. If we want to cooperate, we must be rapid and effective. Hungary’s Eximbank and the Hungarian businesses cooperating with their Egyptian counterparts must respond as swiftly as they can, and Hungarian bureaucracy must be restricted to the minimum and must proceed in a helpful manner, so that we can take advantage of the opportunities that have just presented themselves.

Your Excellency,

On behalf of Hungary and Hungarian businesses I promise that we are fully aware of this. We shall act promptly. If we are given a chance, you will find us to be good and fair-minded partners. You will find this equally when dealing with Hungarians here in Hungary and also in your own country. Finally, Ladies and Gentlemen, during our talks today His Excellency reminded us that, while business is important and money must also be made (because otherwise businesses cannot succeed and there would be nothing to live off), another aspect should be borne in mind: Egypt has not simply embarked on an economic policy direction which is new, but on one which is designed to rescue and rebuild the country. And when we Hungarians – you Hungarian businesspeople – take part in this formidable enterprise, you should realise that, above and beyond profit and financial considerations, you will also be participating in a higher enterprise, which I ask you to be proud of. If we prove to be successful, we should be proud that we Hungarians were also able contribute in some way to the future success of Egypt.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

I wish you the best of success. I wish to thank His Excellency for the speech he is about to deliver. I ask Hungarian entrepreneurs to seek out the opportunities. At the same time, I urge Minister Szijjártó to cut bureaucracy to a minimum, and to provide maximum assistance for Hungarian businesses to enable them to play a role in the Egyptian economy.

Thank you for your attention.