There can be no closer bond between Austria and Hungary than the fact that we both want peace in our neighborhood - stated Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó during his visit to Vienna on Thursday. The war environment makes it even more justified to nurture and strengthen alliances, he emphasized.
attended the opening ceremony of the "wrapping" of the 93-meter-high Ringturm, the second tallest building on the Vienna Ring, at the headquarters of the Wiener Städtische Versicherungsverein insurance company In his speech he said:
we are living in a period full of serious challenges and difficulties, and we should be happy that we can still celebrate partnership, cooperation, art and its community-creating power together.
He explained that the past decade and a half has brought several challenges, of which there are many: war, pandemic, financial and economic crisis, natural disasters at the same time. One of the consequences of this was that the tension between the eastern and western halves of the world began to intensify again. However, the ideal in Central Europe is if dialogue and cooperation based on mutual respect and mutual benefits can be established between East and West. Here, we are not interested in blocking, because then we end up on the periphery - Péter Szijjártó pointed out.
He explained: it is absolutely clear that there is no chapter in the history of Austria and Hungary that can be authentically and comprehensively described without mentioning the other. Thirty-three years ago, we cut through the Iron Curtain between the two countries, and then "East and West shook hands through us, Austrians and Hungarians," he said. He added that "we diligently built our cooperation in this new Europe".
Today, Austrian companies form the second most powerful investor community in Hungary, and based on trade turnover, Austria is the third most important partner.
The Hungarian minister expressed his joy that the Vienna Insurance Grup (VIG) insurance company group also put their trust in Hungary, and that the largest insurance company group in the country was created from the cooperation of the group and the Hungarian government. During the pandemic, when it became clear that the epidemic threatens not only people's health, but also their work, Austrian companies protected and saved the jobs of more than 8,000 people, he emphasized.
Péter Szijjártó thanked the artist Dóra Maurer, the artist of the nation, who "created fantastic things in both countries" and who, with her outstanding career, always helped to strengthen the cooperation and shared destiny of Hungarians and Austrians. He expressed his particular joy over the fact that 4,000 square meters of space in the Austrian capital presents his life's work, which was created as a symbol of cross-border dialogue.
Hungarians and Austrians are connected by "exactly such tight, sometimes complicated, but certainly colorful and inseparable threads" as can now be seen at the Ringturm thanks to the work of Dóra Maurer. We are proud that Hungary is the only one whose two artists have already been given the opportunity to wrap the tower.
The Wiener Versicherung Gruppe (VIG) is the leading insurance group in Austria and the entire Central Eastern European (CEE) region: the group consists of around 50 insurance companies in 30 countries.
Source: hirado.hu
Featured Image: Wikimedia Commons
