Strategic Cooperation with Britain in the Nuclear Industry

British Foreign Secretary David Lammy (L) and Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó

Strategic cooperation is to be launched between Hungary and the United Kingdom in the field of the nuclear industry. The aim is making small modular nuclear reactors available for use in the energy supply as soon as possible, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó announced in London on Tuesday.

Following his meeting with his British counterpart David Lammy, the Hungarian Minister said that their first official meeting had been held in a very good atmosphere, which is further proof of the mutual respect on which the two countries’ cooperation is based, despite their different views on certain geopolitical issues. He underlined that the difference of views is in no way an obstacle to the strategic importance that the parties attach to Hungarian-British relations.

Péter Szijjártó regretted the UK’s withdrawal from the European Union, which, he said, had “removed a good deal of common sense from Brussels and upset the balance between federalists and sovereignists”. He added that since then “those who want a superstate” had clearly done much to undermine the international competitiveness and global political and economic weight of the Community. For this reason, he said, it is in Hungary’s interest that relations between the EU and the UK should be as close as possible, as this will benefit all parties.

The Foreign Minister then announced that they had agreed to launch strategic cooperation in the nuclear industry, as both Hungary and the UK rely heavily on nuclear energy. He pointed out that and the two countries have stood by each other in recent years by mutually supporting each other’s nuclear developments.

“The nuclear industry is on the verge of a major breakthrough, with serious research being carried out to build so-called small modular reactors.

In practice, this would mean that in an area the size of a football pitch, with an investment of one or two to three years, small nuclear power plants could be built that could supply energy to a municipality or a large factory on their own in an efficient and environmentally friendly way,”

Péter Szijjártó outlined.

If this technology were to find its way, Hungary would clearly be interested in using it, as we are a landlocked country, not rich in energy resources to say the least. So for us, nuclear energy is the real solution,”

he added, pointing out that the British Rolls-Royce is one of the world leaders in the sector.

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The Minister also touched on illegal migration, stressing that Budapest and London share a similar view on the issue. Both governments think that it is clearly a threat and that it is therefore important to take action to curb it, for example by taking the strongest possible action against people smugglers.

Finally, Péter Szijjártó emphasized that cooperation was also being strengthened in the defense industry and that joint work was being done in the global fight against terrorism. He pointed out that Africa is particularly at risk in this regard, citing that there are increasingly serious terrorist attack there. “Africa’s security also means Europe’s security, because the more we can help African countries to be secure, the less we will have to expect mass migratory flows towards Europe,” he underlined.

The Hungarian Foreign Minister also praised the bilateral economic cooperation, recalling that trade turnover has reached new records and that investments from British companies, which already employ tens of thousands of people in our country, are constantly coming to Hungary.

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