Orbán to welcome Erdoğan to Budapest in November

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan will be visiting Hungary on 7 November 2019, pro-government daily Magyar Nemzet reports. 

President Erdoğan will meet Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán to discuss the economic and security partnership of the two countries. Sources of the closely government-affiliated Magyar Nemzet stated that the natural gas pipeline TurkStream and the defence industry cooperation that the two leaders hinted at during Erdoğan's 2018 visit to Hungary could be on the agenda.

The relationship of Orbán and Erdoğan is famously close: Apart from Orbán being the first European leader to congratulate Erdoğan on his victory at the Turkish presidential election in June 2018, the Turkish head of state and the Hungarian PM held frequent bilateral talks in recent years: they had meetings at the One Belt One Road summit in Beijing in May 2017, in Ankara in June 2017 when Orbán said Hungary takes a stand by Turkey "even when it is uncomfortable", and most recently, they've met in Budapest last October.

At Erdoğan's latest visit in 2018, the two leaders agreed on strengthening economic ties between the two countries by encouraging Turkish investment in Hungary and on the establishment of a close defence industry cooperation, about which Orbán said: 

(Cover: Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (R) embraces Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán shortly before their talks in Ankara on June 30 2017. Photo: Ho / AFP)