Hungary interested in attracting more Chinese investment – Gulyás

On Thursday, during the Chinese President Xi Jinping's official, three-day visit to Hungary, Minister of the Prime Minister's Office Gergely Gulyás and Government Spokesperson Eszter Vitályos held their third press briefing together.

Gergely Gulyás started the government briefing by stating that at yesterday's cabinet meeting the government had analysed the current state of the war in Ukraine. He added that more details have now emerged about NATO's plans, noting that what can currently be known about the organisation's mission in Ukraine is that it would involve coordinating arms deliveries and military training, and that 100 billion forints would be spent on the war over the next five years.

Speaking on behalf of the Hungarian government, Gergely Gulyás said that instead of NATO getting involved and participating in the conflict, they "are urging NATO to focus on peace talks".

"We are seeking to ensure that NATO does not get involved in this conflict in any way," Gulyás said, adding that if it does get involved, Hungary will focus on staying out of it.

"Hungary has been a loyal ally in NATO," Gulyás added, but he said that at this time "peace must be served". Gulyás also said that while serving peace was necessary, it required a strengthening of the Hungarian army, "instead of engaging in operations that risked a world war between nuclear powers".

Blikk asked Gulyas what he thought about Zsolt Németh's recent statement, in which he said that if we were not members of NATO, it would not be Ukraine defending itself against Russian aggression right now, but Hungary. At first Gulyás only said that NATO provides Hungary with the greatest security, but that he did not fear a Russian attack. He said the question was "so hypothetical" that he did not wish to get into a debate with Zsolt Németh.

Hungary is interested in attracting more Chinese investment

Xi Jinping arrived in Budapest on Wednesday evening and will be staying until Friday. The exact programme of his visit to Budapest, however is not known, as the Hungarian government is keeping a significant part of the press away from Xi Jinping: there is no public itinerary, and no journalists from any media outlet other than the public media are allowed anywhere near the visiting delegation.

When talking about the visit, Gergely Gulyás said that the coverage of the international press is a good indication of the importance of the visit. The Chinese president is visiting only two EU capitals on this trip: Paris and Budapest, which shows Hungary's increased weight in world politics, according to the minister. Gulyás also stressed that China has come a long way in economic terms in the past two decades, which is why it is in our interest to attract more Chinese investment to Hungary.

In terms of international cooperation, Hungary is committed to the principle of collectivity, which means that the goal is to be able to conduct beneficial business with everyone.

What is the Chinese President doing now? – Ekonomix asked Gergely Gulyás, who said that Xi Jinping had met with President Sulyok in the morning, and that he and his wife were currently having lunch with the Prime Minister, after which the delegations would be holding official talks. In the evening, he will have dinner too, Gulyás told the press about the Chinese leader's programme, much of which has not been made known to the press.

On Ahmadinejad's lecture in Budapest

A journalist asked the minister about former Iranian President, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's visit to Budapest earlier this week, during which he gave a lecture at the National University of Public Service.

Gergely Gulyás said that no member of the Hungarian government had met with Ahmadinejad during his time here and added that the Hungarian government "doesn't identify" with the ideas of the openly Holocaust-denying former Iranian president because "the Hungarian government has a clear and justified pro-Israel policy".

Gulyás also added that Ahmadinejad was allowed to deliver a lecture at the National University of Public Service because the university was free to invite him.

On Tuesday, the Israeli Embassy in Budapest responded to a Euronews report that former Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad had visited the campus of the National University of Public Service. They pointed out that Ahmadinejad has organised a conference denying the Holocaust before and has mocked and belittled the victims of the Shoah numerous times, as well as calling for the destruction of Israel on several occasions. They added: "Inviting such a person to hold a lecture to students at any Western university is a grave insult to the memory of the victims of the Holocaust."

It’s a wrap!

Telex was the last to be allowed to ask questions. One of the things we inquired about was why our paper was regularly not invited to the government's press events, including the 5:30 p.m. press conference scheduled for this afternoon on the occasion of the Chinese president's visit. Gulyás said that he would not comment on the issue of press invitations, Vitályos repeated the same. The spokeswoman admitted that she was in contact with the department that takes care of these and finally told our colleague: “Dear Daniel, I will definitely bring it up with them.”

Telex's journalist also asked Gergely Gulyás and Eszter Vitályos whether they think it's appropriate that journalists who have previously advised Fidesz are also asking questions at the government briefing. Another journalist, Péter Breuer then began accusing Telex of "lobbying", to which Gulyás simply said that Breuer had nothing to be ashamed of with regard to whose payroll he was on: but when asked who should be ashamed instead, he did not answer.

The floor was then taken away from Telex, and the government briefing was quickly wrapped up.