Szijjarto calls for close cooperation between pro-peace countries

According to a statement from the foreign ministry, Szijjarto held talks with Sirojiddin Muhriddin, his Tajik counterpart, in Tajikistan’s capital.

“Some political leaders of Europe, unfortunately, think that they are at war and so is Europe, while it is not true: the war is between Ukraine and Russia,” he stressed. He said the longer the war lasted, the greater the risk of further escalation was.

Szijjarto noted that he was meeting his Tajik counterpart for the 11th time, “which shows the importance of bilateral ties for both countries”.

Hungary and Tajikistan have signed an agreement on security cooperation and coordination of the war against crime, the ministry said citing Szijjarto.

Szijjarto said after talks with Muhriddin that relations between the two countries were based on mutual respect and the agreement on security cooperation and the fight against crime was the result of common views they shared about the importance of peace and the fight againts terrorism.

He added that similarly to Hungary, Tajikistan also called for a peace agreement in Ukraine as soon as possible.

Hungary is preparing to fulfil the rotating presidency of the European Union and priorities for the community in the upcoming period now include strengthening cooperation with central Asia, he said.

“No wonder, since the central Asian region is developing very dynamically and the failed sanctions against Russia that caused more damage to Europe also resulted in the rearrangement of east-west trade routes, with the role of central Asia having increased considerably for Europe’s trade with the East,” he added.

He said that he had agreed with his Tajik counterpart that an enhanced partnership agreement between Tajiistan and the EU would be finalised during the Hungarian presidency.

“Additionally, we will ensure that Tajikistan receives financial support from the EU for the success of its border protection efforts, considering that Tajikistan has a vely long 1,500 km border with Afghanistan from where we know that the threat of terrorism continually starts towards Europe,” he said.

“And if the Tajiks cannot hold this back and they cannot protect the Tajik-Afghan border, then Europe will face an even more severe challenge of terrorism in the upcoming period,” he added.

He assured Muhriddin of Hungary’s support for Tajikistan to become a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council by the end of the decade and said that the government will maintain its offer of annual twenty scholarships for Tajik students to study at Hungarian universities.