Before meeting OECD chief Mathias Corman in Paris on Wednesday, Péter Szijjártó, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade, said the crises of recent years had upended the global political and economic status quo.
The foreign minister said on Facebook that there was a greater danger than ever of the world being divided into blocs with many Western politicians artificially putting up obstacles to cooperation between Eastern and Western economies which were traditionally to their mutual advantage. Hobbling such cooperation would deal a strong blow to the European economy, he added. Minister Szijjártó said Eastern and Western companies worked together effectively in Hungary to the country’s great benefit. “If this works well in Hungary, it should work globally, too,” he said. The minister said that the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development was among the last forums where “there’s still hope for an approach based on common sense”. He noted that Hungary was deeply embedded with Western structures such as NATO and the EU while also an observer in the Organization of Turkic States and a strategic partner of China. “We’re also keeping communication channels with Russia open, too,” he added.