Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orban announced Tuesday that his country will set up a trade delegation with “diplomatic status” in Jerusalem.
The announcement followed an hour-long meeting he had with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Netanyahu, at a photo opportunity with Oban, referred to the trade office as an “extension” of the Hungarian embassy in Jerusalem.
Slovakian Prime Minister Peter Pellegrini, meanwhile, announced that his country will open an information office for culture and technology in Jerusalem.
With this move, Hungary and Slovakia will join Bulgaria and the Czech Republic which have opened some kind of delegation in Jerusalem, though not an embassy. Australia, which recognized west Jerusalem as Israel's capital last month, has also announced an intention to open a trade embassy in the city.
Netanyahu met Tuesday morning in Jerusalem with Orban, as well as with the prime ministers of Slovakia and the Czech Republic, even though Poland cancelled its participation in what was to be a formal summit of the Visegrad Group – Hungary, Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovakia.
Netanyahu, in a photo opportunity with the visiting Czech and Slovakian prime ministers, did no address the diplomatic crisis with Poland.
Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis, asked at a photo opportunity whether he was disappointed that Poland decided not to participate, said “I'm sure that Israel and Poland will continue cooperation.” And Orban, who said that the four countries agreed at the last Visegrad summit in Budapest two years ago two hold a summit in Israel, said he hoped that a full summit will take place in Israel “later on.”
Orban said that it would have “been better” had Poland been present in the meeting, and that Hungary hopes that Israel and Poland resolve the issue.
This was Babis' first visit to Israel, and he and Netanyahu announced that the two countries will hold a government-to-government meetings later this year in Prague. Before meeting Netanyahu, Babis – whose country has a trhiving auto industry – visited the Mobileye plant in Jerusalem.
This article has been adapted from its original source.
