Hungary aims to revive V4 cooperation, Peter Magyar says in first foreign trip to Poland
Hungary wants to revive and strengthen the Visegrad Group cooperation based on the long-standing friendship between Hungary and Poland, Prime Minister Peter Magyar said in Krakow on May 19, after his delegation arrived in Krakow. In the campaign, Magyar said his first official visit would lead him to Poland to rebuild bilateral ties that had deteriorated during the previous government.
Magyar said his delegation was on a familiarisation visit, but also aimed to lay the groundwork for cooperation on specific issues, including infrastructure investments and collaboration in defence, culture and agriculture.
Magyar arrived in Poland by train, accompanied by six ministers: Anita Orbán (Foreign Ministry), István Kapitány (Economy and Energy), Romulusz Ruszin-Szendi (Defence), Szabolcs Bona (Agriculture), David Vitezy (Transport) and Zoltán Tarr (Culture). The delegation is then expected to continue to Vienna, followed shortly afterwards by Brussels.
Magyar paid a courtesy visit to Cardinal Grzegorz Rys, Archbishop of Krakow, at Wawel Castle.
"I am proud that, with the mandate of the Hungarian people, I can further strengthen the thousand-year-old Hungarian-Polish friendship and alliance as leader of the new government," he said.
The Hungarian delegation will travel to Gdansk on May 20. Peter Magyar is scheduled to meet former President Lech Walesa and deliver a speech alongside Prime Minister Donald Tusk at a public event. The delegation will then travel to Vienna, where Magyar is to meet Austrian Chancellor Christian Stocker and President Alexander Van der Bellen.
Foreign policy analyst Botond Feledy, in his newsletter, said the warming of bilateral ties could help stabilise regional cooperation, although Poland is expected to enter the campaign season later this year. Shared interests may include the effective use of EU SAFE funds, countering Russian influence and defending key parts of the bloc’s seven-year budget.
Coinciding with the visit, Anita Orban announced that Hungary’s ambassador to Poland, Istvan Ijgyarto, would be replaced, saying that bilateral relations were entering a new chapter that required a new diplomatic approach. Ijgyarto previously served as Hungary’s ambassador to Russia from 2010 to 2014 and later to Ukraine from 2018 to 2023, before assuming the Warsaw post in October 2024.
Local media reports that Anita Orban's ministry will be renamed to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the "foreign trade" portfolio will be transferred to the Economy and Energy Ministry.
Hungary’s civilian foreign intelligence service, the Information Office, will also be overseen by the foreign ministry after a decade under the Prime Minister’s Office. The change is expected to significantly increase the foreign minister's weight within the cabinet.
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