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BUDAPEST, November 5. /TASS/. Hungary will seek to enter into economic cooperation agreements with the United States during Prime Minister Viktor Orban's visit to Washington, which will guarantee its energy security, Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Peter Szijjarto said in connection with the premier’s upcoming meeting with US President Donald Trump on November 7. "A large package of measures on economic and energy cooperation, which we have worked hard to prepare in recent weeks and months, will be an important element of the negotiating agenda," Szijjarto told a press conference in Budapest. He expressed confidence that those agreements will facilitate an influx of American investment into the Hungarian economy and "serve as a long-term guarantee of its energy security." Earlier, the Hungarian government stated its intention to seek exemptions from new US sanctions recently imposed against Russian oil and gas companies Rosneft and Lukoil. Orban indicated that he would discuss the issue with Trump at a meeting at the White House. Moreover, Hungary expects to expand cooperation with the US in the field of nuclear energy, including future supplies of American nuclear fuel for the Paks nuclear power plant in addition to Russian fuel. Orban will be accompanied on his trip by a large government delegation, which will also include business representatives, Szijjarto said. "Ministers and company leaders will hold separate bilateral talks with their partners, heads of federal agencies, and CEOs," he said. With the start of Trump's second term, the relations between the two countries normalized, the minister noted. "The administration of [former US President Joe] Biden driven by political vendetta took measures that were harmful and dangerous for Hungary. We can recall the termination of the double taxation agreement. We can recall that Hungarians were denied visa-free entry to the US. Political sanctions were imposed, while investments in the construction of a new nuclear power plant in Paks crucial for the security of Hungary's energy supply had to be suspended," Szijjarto stressed. Things have changed by now, the official emphasized. "The current US administration has removed the political sanctions and sanctions that impeded further construction of the Paks nuclear power plant and restored visa-free travel with Hungary," he said. The volume of this year's nine major American investments in the Hungarian economy totals around $300 mln.
