Several high-level visits will serve the strategic goal of opening towards the East in Hungary’s foreign relations this year including Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s official visit to Japan and India.

Also this year, the presidents of Vietnam and Singapore, as well as the foreign minister of Afghanistan are set to visit Hungary, Deputy State Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Szabolcs Takács said at the 24th Baile Tusnad Summer University.

Hungary would also like to strengthen its presence in Africa as trade relations with the continent have been developing well, he stated, adding that there are plans to open diplomatic missions in Ethiopia, Angola, Mozambique and Ghana.

Parallel with its efforts to strengthen relations with Asia, Africa and Latin America, Hungary will continue to remain active in Euro–Atlantic cooperation as well, he emphasised.

Deputy State Secretary for Global Affairs Péter Wintermantel said the Visegrád Four (the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, and Slovakia) plans to open the next Visegrád Houses, which perform special, joint diplomatic and consular duties, in Vietnam and Mongolia. A similar diplomatic mission is already operating in South Africa, he said.

(MTI/MFA)