Press Releases

The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr Nikos Christodoulides, travels to Budapest this evening, where tomorrow, Tuesday (19/10), he is due to pay a working visit, at the invitation of his Hungarian counterpart, Mr Péter Szijjártó, which coincides with the completion of 60 years since the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries.

During his stay in the Hungarian capital, Mr Christodoulides will have a tête-à-tête meeting in the morning with Mr Szijjártó at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, followed by extended consultations, during which the full spectrum of bilateral relations between Cyprus and Hungary will be reviewed, and ways to further strengthen cooperation will be considered, with an emphasis, inter alia, in the fields of tourism, education, economic cooperation and culture. The Ministers will also exchange views on a number of issues of European interest, including the effective response to the pandemic, the management of migration flows, EU-Turkey relations, the Conference on the Future of Europe, and measures to tackle climate change.

Furthermore, recent developments in the Eastern Mediterranean and the wider Middle East will be discussed, as well as the situation in the Western Balkans, while on his part Minister Christodoulides will have the opportunity to brief on the latest developments in relation to the Cyprus issue and on the provocative activities of Turkey in the fenced area of Varosha, as well as in the EEZ of Cyprus.

At the end of their deliberations, the two Ministers will sign a Memorandum of Understanding for Political Consultations between the Ministries of Foreign Affairs of Cyprus and Hungary, and will thereafter deliver statements to representatives of the media (at 10.00 a.m. Cyprus time).

Later on, Mr Christodoulides will attend a meeting at the Hungarian Parliament and a working lunch hosted in his honour by the Deputy Speaker of the House, Mr István Jakab, with participation of members of the Parliamentary Friendship Group with Cyprus, under the Group’s Vice President, Mr Zsolt Csenger-Zalán, during which issues of common interest will be discussed.

In the afternoon, the Minister of Foreign Affairs will hold a meeting with the State Secretary at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and President of the Diplomatic Academy of Hungary, Dr. Orsolya Pacsay-Tomassich, with whom they will exchange views, among other issues, on the prospect of cooperation with the newly established Cyprus Diplomatic Academy. Mr Christodoulides will give a lecture to students and members of the Academy on the role of Cyprus, as an EU Member State, in the geopolitically important region of the Eastern Mediterranean and the Middle East.

(NG)