Sezer: Turkey And Hungary Have Exemplary Relations

ANKARA - President Ahmet Necdet Sezer said on Thursday that there was no problem in the relations between Turkey and Hungary, adding that the two countries had exemplary bilateral relations.
Sezer had a meeting with Hungarian President Ferenc Madl, who is currently in Ankara to hold official contacts, and later attended the meeting which was held between Turkish and Hungarian delegations.
After the meeting, Forestry Minister Nami Cagan and Hungarian Agriculture and Rural Development Minister Imre Nemeth signed a protocol on the cooperation in forestry between Turkey and Hungary.
Speaking at the signing ceremony, President Sezer said that he and Madl had a very beneficial meeting and added, ''we noted at the meeting that there is no problem between the two countries and Turkey and Hungary have exemplary relations which are improving.''
Stating that the foreign policy goals of the two countries have similarities, Sezer said, ''Hungary has been going through a successful adjustment process since it became a member of NATO in 1999. The cooperation in defense between the two countries is improving. Hungary is expected to join the European Union (EU) soon. Improvement of the cooperation will be beneficial for both countries within the line of our aim to join the EU.''
Sezer said that they focused on the commercial relations which should be improved rapidly at the meeting and noted, ''commercial relations between Turkey and Hungary are developing in a stable way. I think that bilateral trade volume which is about 400 million U.S. dollars can be increased. The two countries should exert efforts on that path.''
Sezer said that he and Madl discussed some international problems, stating that they shared similar views and concerns on that issue. President Sezer stated, ''we reached agreement that there should be an international cooperation and solidarity between the two countries in order to overcome the new problems threatening all nations.''
Hungarian President Madl who invited Sezer to his country said that the two countries had no problems that could not be solved.
Madl stated that Hungary's annual trade volume was about 64 billion U.S. dollars and added that he and Sezer had the same view that the trade volume which was 420 million U.S. dollars between the two countries was very low.
Stating that they took up the cooperation issue on the integration to the EU, Madl said that they appreciated the reforms which Turkey has fulfilled recently.