TIRANA, March 12 /ATA/ – The Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs Igli Hasani is paying an official visit to Hungary, the country due to take over the rotating presidency of the Council of the European Union in the second half of 2024.
Foreign Minister Hasani met with the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade of Hungary, Peter Szijjarto, with talks focusing on ways to further enhance the very good relations between Albania and Hungary and the traditional historic ties between the two nations, as well as concrete projects deepening cooperation across various fields, including during the Hungarian Presidency of the EU Council this year.
In a press statement with his Hungarian counterpart Szijjártó, Foreign Minister Hasani noted that “Albania-Hungary relations have significantly expanded over the past years.”
Hasani appreciated Hungary’s continuous support for Albania’s EU integration process.
“Very grateful to Hungary and Minister Szijjártó personally for the vocal support in Albania’s and the Western Balkans EU integration process,” he said.
“We signed two important memorandums of understanding on cooperation on diplomatic training, and education within the framework of the Stipendium Hungaricum Programme 2024-2027,” Hasani said.
On his part, Hungary’s Foreign Minister Szijjarto underlined that the security situation in Europe is unstable, emphasizing that Western Balkans’s EU integration is crucial for Europe’s security and beyond.
“EU enlargement is our presidency’s priority. We know it will be a tough battle because there are countries behind closed doors that do not want this. But this will not be the case for Albania. Twenty years of effort, and we believe Albania is ready for negotiations. The more delays, the more questions arise about the integrity of the EU in the region,” he said.
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