Budapest: Hungary and the United States signed a civil nuclear energy cooperation agreement on Monday during a visit by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio to Budapest.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said the agreement, together with a sanctions-related exemption granted by the US administration, would strengthen Hungary’s energy security and support its ability to provide competitively priced energy for households and industry.
He said Hungary maintains an open and transparent approach with its partners, including the United States, and that any concerns can be addressed through direct dialogue.
Rubio said the nuclear agreement followed discussions held during a November meeting between US President Donald Trump and Orban at the White House. He also confirmed that Washington had suspended certain sanctions measures affecting Hungary, allowing further progress in bilateral energy cooperation.
On Sunday, Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico and Rubio discussed bilateral cooperation in nuclear energy, as well as possible energy cooperation between the Visegrad Four (V4) countries (the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Slovakia) and the United States, Xinhua news agency reported.
According to the News Agency of the Slovak Republic, Fico said his government plans to establish a multinational consortium with the US support to “guarantee that Slovakia could build another 1,200-megawatt nuclear unit by 2040.”
Regarding energy cooperation, Fico expressed his interest in possible joint negotiations between the V4 countries and the United States. Slovakia will take over the V4 presidency on 1 July this year.
On January 16, the United States and Slovakia signed an intergovernmental agreement to expand cooperation in the civil nuclear programme. Fico said that the agreement opened the door to negotiations on the supplies of US nuclear technology to Slovakia.
At the joint press conference following their Sunday meeting, Fico underlined that the most important thing is mutual respect between Slovakia and the United States, acting as allies on matters of common interest, and seeking common solutions when differences arise.
In an apparent effort to soften earlier critical and dismissive remarks about Europe by US President Donald Trump and Vice President J D Vance, Rubio said the United States wants Europe to be its “partner” rather than “its vassal.”
(IANS)
