Erdoğan to Visit Budapest for the First Time in 5 Years on Hungary's National Holiday
On August 20th, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan of Turkey will visit Budapest upon the invitation of Prime Minister Viktor Orbán. This marks Erdoğan's first visit to the Hungarian capital in five years.
According to Hungary's news portal HVG, Orbán and Erdoğan share a close relationship, evident through their mutual support and Orbán's attendance at Erdoğan's inauguration, among other instances.
The Hungarian-Turkish summit on August 20th will take place at the Carmelite Monastery, focusing on discussions concerning security, defense industries, and the economy. The two sides are also preparing for the upcoming session of the Hungarian-Turkish High-Level Strategic Cooperation Council, set to take place in Budapest later this year.
It's noteworthy that Turkey and Hungary are the only NATO members that have not ratified Sweden's accession to the Alliance. While Turkey expressed concerns and expectations regarding Finland and Sweden, Hungary has not taken any concrete action apart from sending delegations to the two countries. Nevertheless, the Hungarian press comments on Erdoğan's visit from the perspective of the two countries blocking Sweden's NATO membership.
The Turkish president last visited Budapest in the autumn of 2019 and is now returning to Hungary on its national holiday. August 20th marks St. Stephen's Day, commemorating the foundation of the Hungarian state.
The program for August 20th will commence with the raising of the national flag and cleaning activities, followed by an aerial parade. The President of the Republic, Katalin Novák, will deliver a festive speech in Esztergom and present awards of the Order of St. Stephen.
The festive mass will again take place at St. Stephen's Basilica, after which the Holy Right Hand procession (the relics of St. Stephen) will proceed through the streets of Budapest. The celebrations will conclude with fireworks at 9:00 PM.
Neither the state media nor State Secretary Zoltán Kovács, who held a press conference regarding the holiday, mentioned the cost of the August 20th celebrations. However, through an opposition inquiry, it was revealed that the fireworks will cost 1.4 billion forints ( €36 million) net, and the state will spend over ten billion forints on the series of celebrations, including the fireworks display.
As The Gaze reported, during the Vilnius Summit, Turkey agreed to unblock the ratification process of Sweden's NATO accession in exchange for assistance in drawing closer to the European Union.
However, Turkey has been hesitant to ratify Sweden's application, and Erdoğan has offered advice to Stockholm on what to do in order to join the Alliance.
At the end of July, Hungary's ruling party once again blocked the ratification of Sweden's NATO accession application.