At the press conference following the meeting of the Hungarian-Azerbaijani economic joint committee, the head of the ministry emphasized that both countries are severely affected by the dramatic effects of the war in Ukraine, but those who can maintain good cooperation with the Caucasus region can more effectively adapt to the new conditions in the energy supply.
In this context, he also mentioned that under the motto of diversification, Hungary does not want to replace its well-functioning agreements, but wants to involve new sources in the energy supply, and this is mostly possible from the southeast direction.
According to his words, they therefore asked the European Union to participate in the necessary infrastructure developments, but received a negative response.
“Therefore, from here on, Brussels has nothing to do with how and from where we solve our energy supply, we will not accept guidelines, instructions, or even advice in this regard”
– he stated.
After his meeting with the Azerbaijani Labor Minister, Sahil Babayev, Péter Szijjártó also mentioned that, in spite of this, it is still possible to solve the diversification, thanks in part to Azerbaijan, as the natural gas transport from the country has started for the first time, in the first phase in the amount of 55 million cubic meters.
“Thus, for the first time in history, the natural gas molecules sold to us by Azerbaijan also participate in Hungary’s energy supply”
he noted.
“And we will continue the cooperation as soon as it is seen that the thing is physically working. We will use an increased amount from Azerbaijan in order to ensure the security of the natural gas supply,” he added.
He also touched on the fact that Mol is already present in Azerbaijan, but they are working on further increasing the role of the company in the modernization of extraction technologies and in the chemical industry.
He pointed out: within a few years, Azeri renewable energy can also be part of the Hungarian energy mix, for which the world’s longest undersea high-voltage line must be built, for which there is already a joint commitment from Hungary, Romania, Georgia and Azerbaijan.
“This also shows what a good decision it was in 2010 that we started to build a strategic cooperation with Azerbaijan (.) Those who criticized us many times in an indecent manner, today give a lot, they would give for a good photo with President Aliyev,” he said .
The minister finally confirmed that
Hungary is on the side of peace, not only in Ukraine, but also in the Caucasus region, where a part of the population faced serious security challenges for a long time.
“We believe that the people living here also have the right to a peaceful, calm and dignified life. Therefore, we welcome the fact that Azerbaijan and Armenia were able to make significant progress in demarcating the state border in recent days,” he said.
He then added that the European Union can provide assistance in the process if it takes an “impartial and balanced” approach to the region.
In connection with this, he announced that Hungary will contribute four million forints to demining and participate in the reconstruction of Soltanli in Nagorno-Karabakh, which was recaptured by Azerbaijan last year, which is planned to be completed by the end of next year.
He also welcomed the fact that bilateral trade reached a peak of 120 million euros last year, and informed that new partnerships are constantly being built between the companies of the two countries, even in completely new areas.
“If everything goes well, Hungarian corporate participation will contribute to the success of the Formula 1 World Championship race in Azerbaijan next year,” he said.
