President El-Sisi Meets Prime Minister of Hungary at Ittihadia Palace
Yesterday, President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi received at Ittihadia Palace the Prime Minister of Hungary, Viktor Orbán, who is on a 3 day visit to Egypt.
The Spokesman for the Presidency, Counselor Ahmed Fahmy, said President El-Sisi and Prime Minister Orbán held individual talks that were followed by an expanded meeting that included the delegations of the two countries. The meeting touched on the main areas of cooperation between Egypt and Hungary, as well as regional and international issues of mutual interest.
Following their talks, President El-Sisi and Prime Minister Orbán signed a joint declaration on strategic partnership between the two countries. The declaration is a framework through which bilateral relations would be further enhanced, demonstrating the level of distinct relations reached in the past period. They also witnessed the signing of a number of memoranda of understanding between Egypt and Hungary in the sectors of education and training in the peaceful uses of nuclear energy, youth and sports, as well as increasing the number of university and post-university scholarships for the years 2023/2026 and the Hungarian scholarship program “Stipendium” for 2023/2026.
President El-Sisi and the Prime Minister of Hungary held a joint press conference afterwards, which included President El-Sisi’s Speech :
“In the Name of Allah, the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful”
Your Excellency Mr. Viktor Orbán,
Prime Minister of the friendly country of Hungary,
Ladies and gentlemen,
At the outset, I would like to welcome my dear friend Viktor Orbán whose visit to Egypt is of special importance. This visit comes in light of a declaration that is signed today to advance relations between the two countries to reach the level of strategic partnership. This, in turn, would reflect the strong and deep relations between our countries since the establishment of diplomatic relations between them in 1928. These relations have become notably stronger in recent years and we intend to further advance them.
Relations between Egypt and Hungary are an example to be followed in our world that is going through difficulties and challenges for the first time in decades. In my opinion, relations between our two countries are special due to common understanding and mutual respect regarding the stances and values of both countries as well as the political consensus between them on many international issues which we discussed during the bilateral talks that were held today.
Ladies and gentlemen,
The talks with the Hungarian Prime Minister focused on ways to further strengthen bilateral economic relations between the two countries. We agreed on the great benefit that Hungarian investors accrue from investing in Egypt and in the Suez Canal economic zone, in particular.
We also stressed the need to continue establishing ties between Egyptian companies and their Hungarian counterparts, sharing expertise in the fields of agriculture, water management, and irrigation, and looking at ways of cooperation to confront the global food and energy crises and to increase the number of tourists between the two countries.
We also emphasized the importance of executing the concluded contract concerning the supply of 1,350 railway cars from Hungary, within the agreed timeframes. We also touched on the need to discuss joint cooperation on the localization of the industry of railway cars in Egypt.
Our discussions also addressed the importance of further promoting bilateral relations in the areas of:
Transport, trade, industry, energy, tourism, agriculture, irrigation and water management as well as in the fields of culture and education.
I would like to thank Prime Minister, Viktor Orbán, for the Hungarian authorities’ decision to increase the number of university and graduate scholarships for Egypt. This would increase the number of scholarships to 200 per year starting from the academic year 2023/2024. I look forward to raising the number of scholarships again in the future, in light of the benefit the Egyptian students receive from the Hungarian scholarships and from studying in Hungary.
Ladies and gentlemen,
During the meeting, we exchanged visions regarding the regional and international crises our world is witnessing today, particularly in the Middle East and Europe. There is a convergence of views between the two countries with regard to the importance of reaching a peaceful settlement to the Russia-Ukraine crisis, at the earliest convenience, for the sake of the peoples so as to end the humanitarian suffering and limit the massive economic repercussions resulting from this ongoing conflict. The crisis came after the world experienced unprecedented difficult conditions following the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic.
We also emphasized the importance of continuing our joint cooperation in the fields of illegal immigration and combating terrorism, taking into consideration Egypt’s great success in these areas.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Finally, I would like to once again welcome Prime Minister of Hungary, Viktor Orbán, and his wife as dear guests of Egypt and its people. I wish them a delightful and pleasant stay.
Thank you
