In Budapest today at the annual meeting of Hungarian ambassadors, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán told the 104 heads of mission present that Hungary is managing the current economic crisis successfully – as is Central Europe in general.

He said that even though it had been hoped that the euro crisis would be short, it now appears to be a prolonged phenomenon, and that we should therefore be prepared for the euro crisis remaining a determining factor in European politics. He added that crisis management in Hungary is different from that which Europe has chosen, and it promises success even in the short term.

He also regards Central European crisis management as successful, and he highlighted the approaches of Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovakia. He pointed out that the Government will not allow Hungary's debt reduction plan to be compromised by EU crisis management. He also stated that the leaders of Member States cannot afford to lose the trust of their countries’ citizens.

He also said that integration with the West and opening up to the East are not mutually exclusive. With regard to the latter, western states are ahead of Hungary, because this leads to prosperity and competitiveness, and Hungary should strive not be left out of this process.

In the spirit of this, the Prime Minister met Surin Pitsuwan, the Secretary General of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). The meeting was also attended by Foreign Minister János Martonyi, State Secretary for Foreign Affairs and External Relations Péter Szijjártó, and the Ambassador of Thailand.

The Prime Minister made it clear that cooperation with the Southeast Asian region was crucial for Hungary, adding that a good basis for it could be cooperation in education and scientific research. Parties at the talks agreed that the two countries would launch a scholarship programme to this end.

(Prime Minister’s Office)