Georgian Foreign Minister Maka Botchorishvil held a joint press conference with Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Peter Siarto.

Below is her speech in full:

“First of all, I express my gratitude to you personally for giving me this opportunity to be here in Budapest today and to address this ambassadorial conference—a very important meeting for any diplomatic service.

It is my great pleasure to be here, and thank you again for your support—Hungarian support for Georgia, for your positions. As you mentioned, we greatly appreciate the support you provide within the European Union and, of course, in our bilateral relationship, which is in a very good state, and we are very proud of it as we face this intensive year still ahead of us.

This year is very important. We will soon have an economic commission meeting, which is vital to fostering economic ties between our countries and exploring all the possibilities we have. Of course, the numbers are good, but they can be better, and we will work in that direction. I am sure we will achieve better results in the coming years in terms of fostering economic cooperation.

We look forward to having our next intergovernmental meeting here in Budapest, where the Georgian government and the Hungarian government will meet. That is an excellent opportunity to discuss the various directions of our cooperation. It is also a clear example of how countries should cooperate and work together. For Georgia, it is very important to play a role in the region. We pay a lot of attention to various projects with the participation of different countries here in Hungary. I must mention our good cooperation when it comes to connectivity and collaboration between Georgia, Hungary, Romania, and Azerbaijan. It is crucial to continue in that framework.

The engagement of the European Commission in these important projects that we are proposing is vital, and we count on you and your support within the European institutions to implement these significant projects for European security. In that regard, peace is extremely important. Georgia still faces the occupation of two regions by the Russian Federation, which poses a significant security threat for us.

We highly value peace, and it is essential for us to find a peaceful solution to the conflicts that exist in our region. This is crucial for future development, economic cooperation, and peace and security in the wider region. The positions we share on this matter are very important for our common future in European integration, which remains Georgia’s main political and strategic priority.

I would like to thank you for the support you provide in terms of lending expertise to Georgia and sending experts. This instrumental help from Hungarians is greatly appreciated, as are the training opportunities you offer for Georgian civil servants. It is excellent cooperation that we have, and again, thank you very much for this opportunity to be here. For me, it is a great honor, and I look forward to working closely with you for future cooperation.”

Botchorishvili is paying an official visit to Hungary at the invitation of Minister Siarto. She participated in the Hungarian Ambassadors’ Conference, where she took part in a panel discussion alongside her Hungarian counterpart.