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Hungary supports Georgia's efforts to approach NATO, EU

Xinhua, February 10, 2015 Adjust font size:

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban and his Georgian counterpart Irakli Garibashvili underlined the significance of their cooperation in Budapest on Tuesday, with Hungary supporting Georgia's efforts to approach NATO and the European Union.

Orban underlined that the strategic importance of Georgia had grown tremendously as various attempts to build gas transport lines circumventing Ukraine failed, one after the other.

Georgia will surely play an important role as an energy distributor and/or transporter, Orban said. Orban promised to lend Hungary's full support to Tbilisi's efforts to join NATO.

Georgia has also approached the European Union with Hungarian support, and an Association Agreement was approved this past December.

Garibashvili voiced his gratitude to Hungary for helping it fulfill the obligations it undertook at the NATO summit in November, which included helping to train Afghan security forces and agreeing to participate in the NATO Response Force as of 2015.

The Georgian PM said that economic cooperation was the most important factor in cooperation between Budapest and Tbilisi and that both governments were hard at work to build business ties.

He also expressed appreciation for Hungarian support for his country's territorial integrity and sovereignty, which includes the disputed regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, which broke away in 2008.

Orban said Georgia was an important trading partner - so important that trade had increased by ten percent in the first ten months of 2014. He also announced that a Hungarian trading center would be opening in Tbilisi in April.

Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto and Georgian Foreign Minister Tamar Beruchashvili signed a bilateral cooperation agreement prior to the news conference.

Garibashvili is expected to address a Georgia-Hungary business forum later in the day. Enditem