By Sama Marwan,
Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdel Aaty met on Thursday with Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó. The meeting focused on the rapidly growing relations between the two countries and welcomed the upcoming fifth session of the Joint Economic Committee, set to take place from April 8 to 10, along with a joint business forum. The forum will include the Egyptian Ministers of Trade and International Cooperation, as well as a Hungarian business delegation representing 21 companies and 95 Egyptian companies.
Both ministers emphasized the need to increase trade exchange between Egypt and Hungary. They praised the progress made in bilateral cooperation projects and economic collaboration, particularly in the industrial sector. The ministers expressed hopes that Hungarian companies — especially those working in renewable energy and green hydrogen — would invest in the Suez Canal Economic Zone, and they stressed joint efforts to boost cooperation in tourism and aviation.
On regional issues, the two ministers exchanged views on the situation in Gaza and the escalation in the West Bank. Minister Abdel Aaty presented the Arab-Islamic plan for early recovery and reconstruction in Gaza, emphasizing the importance of keeping Palestinians on their land. He also discussed efforts to stabilize the ceasefire and begin the second phase of its implementation.
Abdel Aaty reaffirmed Egypt’s strong condemnation of the ongoing Israeli aggression on Gaza, the prevention of humanitarian and relief aid, and the rising tensions in the West Bank. He stressed Egypt’s outright rejection of the forced displacement of Palestinians under any pretext and highlighted the importance of achieving a just and lasting political solution to the Palestinian issue through the two-state solution — including the establishment of an independent Palestinian state along the June 4, 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital.
The meeting also included discussions on developments in Syria and Lebanon, as well as the security of maritime navigation in the Red Sea region.
