On September 4, Jeyhun Bayramov, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Azerbaijan, left for an official visit to Hungary.

Meeting with the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade

On the same day, Minister Jeyhun Bayramov met with Peter Szijjártó, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade of Hungary.

The one-on-one meeting between Minister Jeyhun Bayramov and Minister Peter Szijjártó continued in a larger format with the participation of the delegations of both sides, and the first meeting of the Azerbaijan-Hungary Strategic Dialogue was held.

Opportunities for further expansion of relevant cooperation with Hungary in economy, trade, pharmaceuticals, culture, education, sports, and other areas were discussed. It was emphasized that the partnership in the energy field plays a key role in relations, and directions such as transport and logistics will contribute more to cooperation.

"In particular, it was noted that Armenia is hindering the reintegration efforts of the Armenian residents living in the Karabakh region of Azerbaijan by all means and spreading false claims around the Lachin-Khankendi [Stepanakert in Armenian] road. It was mentioned that Armenian residents pass through the Lachin road on a daily basis, and Azerbaijan proposed the use of the Aghdam-Khankendi road for the transportation of large loads to the area," the report added.

During the meeting, views were also exchanged on the large-scale reconstruction works carried out in the liberated territories of Azerbaijan, and gratitude was expressed to the other party for the interest shown by Hungary in this process.

Later, the two ministers signed the protocol of the 1st meeting of the Azerbaijan-Hungary Strategic Dialogue.

Meeting with the heads of diplomatic missions of Hungary

On September 4, Jeyhun Bayramov made a speech at the annual conference of Hungary's heads of diplomatic missions and answered the questions.

He said that the high-level political dialogue creates a favorable basis for the development of economic cooperation and that the regular meetings of the Joint Commission on Economic Cooperation are of great importance in terms of further expansion of cooperation in the fields of economy, energy, trade, and investments. 

Also, against the background of the post-war regional geopolitical situation in Ukraine, the minister spoke about the relevance of transport routes from Central Asia to the Caspian Sea and then through the country and emphasized the importance of diversifying and modernizing the country's transport infrastructure. He noted that Azerbaijan has invested heavily in transport infrastructure and the importance of several transport infrastructure projects to strengthen trade and logistics between Europe and Asia, including the Middle Corridor - Trans-Caspian International Transport Route, which is a convenient and safe alternative. In this regard, the importance of the Zangezur corridor, which has the potential to increase even better connectivity within the Middle Corridor, has been mentioned.

"It is stated that Azerbaijan is determined to integrate its citizens of Armenian origin living in the Karabakh region into its political, social, and economic space and that it has started unprecedented restoration and reconstruction works in the post-conflict period, and in this context, Hungarians are ready to support Azerbaijan in the process of restoration and reconstruction of the territories freed from occupation. Gratitude was expressed to friends," the report added.

Meeting with the Chairman of the National Assembly of Hungary

On September 5, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Azerbaijan met with László Kövér, the Chairman of the National Assembly of Hungary, as part of his official visit to Hungary, the Press Office of the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry reported.

At the meeting, current issues on the agenda of bilateral and multilateral cooperation between the two countries and inter-parliamentary relations, including the current situation in the region, were discussed.

As a continuation of the development dynamics of bilateral relations, it was brought to attention that there is mutually beneficial cooperation within the framework of several international organizations, especially the Organization of Turkic States. The importance of further increasing the intensity of activity of parliamentary diplomacy, including inter-parliamentary friendship groups, which is important in developing relations, was noted.

"Despite the efforts of Azerbaijan, the initiator of the peace agenda, in the direction of advancing the normalization process, Armenia's continued military-political provocations against the territorial integrity and sovereignty of our country, and the fact that the armed forces present in the territories of Azerbaijan have not yet been completely withdrawn from the territories of our country, are the main threats that prevent the establishment of sustainable peace in the region. It was brought to our attention that it is the source. In addition, the ongoing large-scale mine threat in our region has been brought to our attention," the report added.

"It was noted that the proposal to open the Aghdam-Khankendi road and to intensify the use of the Lachin road in parallel with this to meet the needs of the Armenian residents settled in the Karabakh region of Azerbaijan as part of the process of reintegration into society was rejected. It was said that the rejection of these proposals by the Azerbaijani side shows that the current situation around the Lachin road is not of a humanitarian nature, as claimed by Armenia, but rather of a political nature," the information noted.

The Chairman of the National Assembly noted the importance of high and high-level contacts in the development of strategic relations between Azerbaijan and Hungary, as well as the role of close cooperation between the parliamentary friendship and expert groups. The existence of prospects for the further development of relations and the importance of using opportunities in these directions was emphasized.