Türkiye and Hungary signed a series of agreements on Monday covering aviation, security, technology, culture and education as the two NATO members sought to deepen political and economic ties, President Tayyip Erdoğan said.
Erdoğan said the two governments were close to meeting their earlier bilateral trade goal of $6 billion and had agreed to lift the target to $10 billion. “Given the strong potential in our economic relations, we discussed updating our trade volume target to $10 billion,” he said at a news conference with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán.
He said relations were upgraded to an “Enhanced Strategic Partnership” during a High-Level Strategic Cooperation Council meeting two years ago, adding that political dialogue had intensified through frequent bilateral visits and cooperation in multilateral bodies such as the Organization of Turkic States.
Erdoğan said the talks in Ankara reviewed cooperation in energy, transport, trade, defence and culture, and that several agreements were signed to strengthen the legal framework of bilateral ties. He announced the creation of a joint planning group chaired by the foreign ministers of the two countries, complementing existing defence and intelligence consultations.
On defence cooperation, Erdoğan said joint projects were delivering “positive results” and that Ankara and Budapest were evaluating new ventures, including possible joint production, amid shifting security dynamics in Europe.
He noted that next year had been designated the Türkiye–Hungary Science and Innovation Year, saying both sides had prepared 28 joint initiatives focused on research and development, digitalisation, artificial intelligence and entrepreneurship.
Erdoğan said he also discussed the Middle East and the war in Ukraine with Orbán. He welcomed Hungary’s active role in the Organization of Turkic States and described an informal summit Budapest hosted in May as “historic” for being the first held inside the European Union.
Reiterating Türkiye’s mediation efforts on Ukraine, Erdoğan said Ankara would continue to push for a “just and lasting peace,” adding: “In this war, there will be no winner – and no loser in a just peace.”