On January 30, an official welcome ceremony was held for Ilham Aliyev, the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, at Kossuth Lajos Square in Budapest, Hungary, the Press Office of the Azerbaijani President reported. Katalin Novák, the President of Hungary, welcomed Ilham Aliyev.

On the same day, Ilham Aliyev held a one-on-one meeting with Katalin Novák in Budapest. Also, the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan held an expanded meeting with the President of Hungary.

Moreover, Aliyev held a meeting with Viktor Orbán, Hungary's Prime Minister, in a limited format in Budapest. Afterward, Ilham Aliyev held an expanded meeting with Prime Minister of Hungary Viktor Orbán in Budapest.

Azerbaijan and Hungary signed documents

Following the expanded meeting of Aliyev and Orbán, a ceremony of signing documents was held.

Ilham Aliyev and Viktor Orbán signed a Joint Declaration on an enhanced strategic partnership between the Republic of Azerbaijan and Hungary.

Aydin Karimov, the Azerbaijani President’s Special Representative in the Shusha district, and Gyula Porga, Mayor of the city of Veszprém, signed a "Memorandum of Understanding on the establishment of friendly ties between the city of Shusha of the Republic of Azerbaijan and the city of Veszprém of Hungary, and cooperation in culture, tourism, urban development, science, economy and other fields of public life."

Mikayil Jabbarov, the Minister of Economy of Azerbaijan, and Péter Szijjártó, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade of Hungary, signed a "Memorandum of Understanding on natural gas cooperation between the Ministry of Economy of the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade of Hungary."

Jeyhun Bayramov, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan, and Péter Szijjártó signed a "Memorandum of Understanding on cooperation in plant quarantine and plant protection between the Food Safety Agency of the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Ministry of Agriculture of Hungary."

Jeyhun Bayramov and Péter Szijjártó signed a "Memorandum of Understanding on cooperation in the field of migration between the State Migration Service of the Republic of Azerbaijan and the National Directorate-General for Aliens Policing of Hungary."

Jeyhun Bayramov and Péter Szijjártó signed a "Memorandum of Understanding on cooperation in space studies and space activities for peaceful purposes between the Ministry of Digital Development and Transport of the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade of Hungary."

Jeyhun Bayramov and Péter Szijjártó signed a "Protocol on cooperation between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade of Hungary."

Ilham Aliyev and Viktor Orbán made press statements

On January 30, Ilham Aliyev and Viktor Orbán made press statements in Budapest.

Regarding the energy crisis in Europe and Hungary, Orbán emphasized, "The present environment in international relations is more dangerous than before. The war in our neighborhood and the sanctions imposed by Brussels have created a very dangerous situation for Hungary, for our energy security, and the energy security of Europe has entered a sensitive period. These new conditions have immediately enhanced the importance of Azerbaijan. The significance of this country has made a kind of leap forward. Azerbaijan has always been our friend, and now it is a strategic partner for the whole of Europe. Everyone in Europe today understands that our answer to this situation is diversification. We are talking about the maximum volume that can be transported from various sources." He added: "At that time, both countries were already working on transporting energy from Azerbaijan to Europe. At that time, that plan was not implemented. If you remember, it was the NABUCCO project. Future historians will probably one day examine why the NABUCCO project was postponed. Of course, this happened at a time before Russia invaded Ukraine. At that time, of course, energy resources were not transported to Europe, but today we are again facing a scenario where energy volumes should be transported from Azerbaijan to Europe. For this reason, we highly appreciate Azerbaijan's commitment to this issue, and it has signed a relevant document with the European Union. According to that document, Azerbaijan will double the volume of gas to be transported to Europe by 2027."

Regarding future energy projects, the head of Hungary stated: "Major projects need to be implemented. We have already started negotiations and cooperation with the energy companies of Bulgaria, Romania, and Slovakia to attract the necessary funds. Romanians, Bulgarians, and Hungarians have already started cooperating. This is not just a regional issue, it is a pan-European issue. Therefore, we expect that the European Commission will support these projects. I would like to remind you that Mr. Aliyev and I recently signed another agreement in Bucharest, in which an electric cable will be extended under the Black Sea to bring green energy from Azerbaijan to Europe."

Aliyev said regarding the revival of the NABUCCO project, "I am very glad that we have now revived the NABUCCO project, which was once consigned to history. Through interconnectors, Azerbaijani gas will be delivered to Bulgaria, then to Romania, then to Hungary, and after Hungary to other European countries. We have also discussed this. Hungary is not only a consumer of Azerbaijani gas but will also act as a transit country for Azerbaijani gas to other European countries." 

He said about the relations with Hungary, "I can say that we have already started transferring goods from Hungary to Azerbaijan and from Azerbaijan to Hungary through railways. This project has great potential as well. Because after the start of the Russian-Ukrainian war, the volume of goods passing through the territory of Azerbaijan dramatically increased. Last year alone, the volume of transit cargo increased by 75 percent. The modern transport infrastructure existing in Azerbaijan – be it tankers, ships, a large trade seaport, railways – all of them are modern and meet all the necessary requirements."