Press Releases
Japan-Hungary Foreign Ministers’ Telephone Talk
On May 14, commencing at around 3:10 p.m. for approximately 35 minutes, Mr. MOTEGI Toshimitsu, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Japan, held a telephone talk with H.E. Mr. Péter Szijjártó, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade of Hungary. The overview is as follows.
1. At the outset, Minister Motegi expressed his respect for the efforts by the Hungarian government and people in response to the situation of the global spread of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19), and emphasized the importance of sharing the information, lessons learned, and insights of each country in a fair, transparent, and timely manner. Minister Motegi informed Minister Szijjártó of the provision of Avigan tablets that the Hungary side requested, and Minister Szijjártó expressed gratitude.
2. Together with affirming the significance of the visit to Japan by Prime Minister Orbán in December 2019, the two ministers confirmed their intention to follow-up on matters agreed on in that meeting after COVID-19 situation winds down, including political consultations, visits by defense ministry personnel, and holding science and technology cooperation consultations, thereby steadily advancing bilateral relations.
3. Minister Motegi requested support and understanding to ensure the continuous business activities of Japanese companies that are active in the Hungarian market. In response, Minister Szijjártó expressed gratitude for employment of workers by Japanese companies in Hungary. In addition Minister Szijjártó explained that Hungary has decided to partly lift its entry restrictions for the Japanese business person from today and stated that every form of support would be provided to Japanese companies for the continuation of their business in Hungary.
4. In addition, both ministers exchanged views regarding “Visegrad Group plus Japan” cooperation, and agreed to advance discussions toward cooperation after COVID-19 situation winds down.
(Note) V4:
A regional cooperation framework consisting of the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, and Slovakia. It was founded in Visegrad in Hungary in 1991. It holds dialogues at the leader, foreign minister, and senior working levels and promotes V4 plus Japan cooperation in a wide range of areas, such as science and technology, assistance to third countries, disaster risk reduction, and the environment.