Foreign Minister János Martonyi had a meeting with Egyptian Foreign Minister Mohammad Kamal Amr at the UN General Assembly in New York on September 27. The two ministers agreed that they would bolster cooperation between their countries.

Minister Martonyi expressed his appreciation for the domestic and foreign policy achievements accomplished by the new Egyptian leadership since the government was formed. He offered to share Hungary’s experience on democratic transition. The Hungarian Foreign Minister said that Hungary would be interested in learning more about the plans of the Egyptian leadership, and urged to intensify high-level political dialogue between the two countries. This would include having more visits to Hungary by the decision-makers of the Egyptian Government. The two embassies in Budapest and Cairo also have an important role to play in the development of bilateral relations. Foreign Minister János Martonyi said that he was happy to see the developing economic relations between the two countries; the 20 million euro contract concluded recently between the Egyptian State Railways Company and Ganz Motor Ltd was an important step forward in this respect.

Minister Mohammad Kamal Amr stated, in response to János Martonyi’s suggestions, that the Egyptian Government was ready to intensify cooperation with Hungary. The Egyptian Foreign Minister also pointed out that Hungarian railway manufacturing has had an excellent reputation in Egypt for a long time, therefore Egypt would be expecting Hungarian investment primarily in transport, but also in other fields.

Foreign Minister Kamal Amr claimed that the Egyptian leadership was deeply concerned about the Syrian crisis, for the dissolution of the country would seriously destabilize the entire region. Egypt was interested in resolving the crisis as soon as possible, Minister Mohammad Kamal Amr declared.

(Prime Minister’s Office)