Türkiye and Hungary have 'extensive' relations: President Erdogan

By Diyar Guldogan

Türkiye and Hungary enjoy "extensive" relations based on their deep-rooted ties, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Sunday.

"We have extensive relations with Hungary based on deep-rooted and solid friendship ties. We are making significant progress in all areas of our relations," Erdogan said on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter.

Erdogan paid a one-day visit to the capital Budapest for Hungary's National Day celebrations and also the World Athletics Championships.

"Our bilateral trade volume reached $3.5 billion in 2022, an all-time high. We believe that we will reach our target of a $6 billion trade volume in a short time through joint efforts," he said.

The president wished that his visit will be beneficial to further improve bilateral relations.

During his visit, Erdogan separately met with his Hungarian counterpart Katalin Novak and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban to discuss bilateral ties as well as regional and global developments.

The Turkish leader also attended a reception to mark Hungary's National Day and greeted citizens, who demonstrated their love for him.

Erdogan later watched the World Athletics Championships men's 100 meters final at the National Athletics Centre stadium, where he had conversations with his Azerbaijani counterpart Ilham Aliyev and Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani.

On the sidelines, Erdogan also met separately with his Uzbek counterpart Shavkat Mirziyoyev, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, Bosnian Serb leader Milorad Dodik, who is president of the Republika Srpska entity of Bosnia, and Zeljka Cvijanovic, a Serb member of the tripartite collective Bosnian presidency. They discussed bilateral ties and regional and global issues.

Relations between Türkiye and Hungary were elevated to the level of a strategic partnership in 2013 after the establishment of the High-Level Strategic Cooperation Council. The friendly ties have gained momentum in every field in recent years.

This December, the two countries are set to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations.