Strengthening economic ties with the Caucasus region is an important element of the Government's Opening towards the East Policy, said the Hungarian State Secretary for Foreign Affairs and External Economic Relations Péter Szijjártó.
The next session of the Hungarian-Azeri Joint Economic Committee, on bilateral economic relations, education, tourism and visa requirements is scheduled to be held at the end of January.The State Secretary is proud of the below achievements:
Hungarian exports to Azerbaijan have expanded by 29 percent in the past year.
In 2012 A Hungarian trading house was opened in Baku.
A direct route between Budapest and Baku was launched by Wizz Air in June 2013.
‘Péter Szijjártó highlighted that bilateral trade, which consists almost exclusively of Hungarian exports, amounted to HUF 12 billion (54.2 million dollars) in the first ten months of 2013, representing an increase of 28.5 percent compared to the same period last year.’- writes the Hungarian Government official website
foreplay
The Hungarian-Azeri relations had been given a special color in In September 2012 after Hungary released an azeri officer Ramil Sahib Safarov who hacked an Armenian soldier, Gurgen Markarian, with an axe to death while Margaryan was asleep, at a military academy in Budapest in 2004, where they both attended English-language courses organised by Nato.
According to PM, Viktor Orbán, Hungary complied with international regulations regarding Ramil Sahib Safarov’s transfer to Azerbaijan. State Secretary, Péter Szíjjártó confirmed this, saying on multiple forums that every aspect of the transfer was in accordance with the 1983 Strasbourg Convention and was a transparent procedure, denying every allegation indicating that the case was influenced by energy relations between Hungary and Azerbaijan - published the Prime Minister’s Office on the Government website in 2nd September 2012.
The Day after Hungary's Foreign Ministry let the ambassador of Azerbaijan in Budapest know that the actions that followed the transferral home of life-sentenced Azerbaijani Ramil Sahib Safarov are unacceptable to Hungary. Ramil Sahib Safarov instead of serving out the rest of his life sentence, was given a hero's welcome on his return, he was also given an official pardon from President Ilham Aliyev, he was promoted to the rank of major, given a flat and all the pay he had lost since his arrest eight years ago -wrote the BBC.
The Armenian parliament has then formally suspended ties with Hungary, that has not been restored since.
At that time the Government press release wrote that " the decision of Azerbaijan inconsistent with the spirit of cooperation based on mutual trust that has been achieved during the past years between our respective countries"
source: kormany.hu