Hungarian PM says Georgia showing “very high rate” of economic development, rapprochement with EU “should be much easier”.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán on Thursday said Georgia had shown “very high indicators” of economic growth and development “for several years” and its rapprochement with the European Union should be “much easier”.

Speaking at a joint press briefing with his counterpart Irakli Garibashvili, hosted after the first intergovernmental summit between the two countries in the eastern Georgian city of Telavi, Orbán said he had launched his visit to “show the respect and appreciation of the Hungarian people to the people of Georgia”.

Everyone is fighting to maintain an economic level that will be very high. You have shown us very high rates of development in the economy and have been there for several years. [...] Our meeting was against the background that the global security situation has never been worse than it is today in the last 30 years", Orbán said.

Orbán also said Hungary “highly valued” the “struggle that Georgia has been carrying out for several hundred years to preserve the Christian state”.

It is not easy to run a Christian government in Europe, and I believe that our Christian traditions are of the highest value, which will be a very good basis for the friendship of the two countries”, he said.

The visiting PM noted at the press briefing that a “number of bilateral agreements” had been signed between Hungary and Georgia and that “we have very serious ideas for economic cooperation”. 

We have flagship initiatives with Hungarian aviation companies that are market leaders [...] We will give 80 scholarships to Georgian students to come to Budapest, to study in Hungary [...] They will be true ambassadors of friendship between the two peoples”, he said.

In other comments, Orbán wished Georgia “fantastic results” on its path to EU integration.