Ukraine-Hungary intergovernmental commission chaired by Kuleba and Szijjártó to convene in Kyiv

23.06.2020 17:23

Ukrinform

The fourth meeting of the Ukrainian-Hungarian intergovernmental commission co-chaired by Ukrainian Minister of Foreign Affairs Dmytro Kuleba and Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó will take place in Kyiv on June 25.

"Dmytro Kuleba and Péter Szijjártó agreed to resume the work of the commission, which has not convened for almost seven years, at the beginning of the year. The meeting was scheduled for March, but was postponed due to the coronavirus crisis. In early June, the ministers set a new date for the meeting," the Government portal reports.

The parties are expected to discuss the development of trade and investment between Ukraine and Hungary, consider a number of joint economic and transport projects, improvement of border and cross-border infrastructure, revival of cooperation in agriculture, energy, and environmental protection.

Following the meeting, a joint briefing of Kuleba and Szijjártó is planned.

As reported, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Dmytro Kuleba made a visit to Hungary on May 29, where he met with his colleague Péter Szijjártó.

The ministers signed a number of bilateral documents, including a protocol between the Government of Ukraine and the Government of Hungary amending the framework agreement between the Government of Ukraine and the Government of Hungary on the provision of tied aid loan and a memorandum of understanding between the State Agency on Energy Efficiency and Energy Saving of Ukraine and the Ministry for Innovation and Technology of Hungary.

Earlier, Hungary-Ukraine relations deteriorated again after the Verkhovna Rada passed the Law “On Ensuring the Functioning of the Ukrainian Language as the State Language”. Hungary reacted negatively to the adoption of this law.

The Hungarian side also sharply criticized the adoption in Ukraine of the law “On Education” on September 5, 2017, which provides, in particular, for the wider introduction of the Ukrainian language, including the educational institutions of national minorities.

Despite numerous attempts of the Hungarian and Ukrainian sides to resolve the disputed issues through diplomacy, a full understanding has not been reached. Official Budapest continued to block Ukraine's Euro-Atlantic initiatives.