US Secretary of State Marco Rubio will visit Hungary following the Munich Security Conference to be held this weekend in Germany.
According to a statement by the US State Department, Rubio will meet senior Hungarian officials in Budapest to discuss ‘strengthening bilateral and regional interests’, including a shared commitment to ‘peace processes to resolve global conflicts’ and to the ‘US–Hungary energy partnership’.
In addition to Hungary, Secretary of State Rubio will also visit Slovakia after the Munich conference.
The announcement comes after Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said last week that he will travel to Washington, DC, in two weeks to attend the inaugural meeting of the Board of Peace.
While it remains unclear whether Trump and Orbán will hold bilateral talks on the sidelines of the Board of Peace meeting, the Hungarian prime minister recently said in a panel discussion that Trump ‘should be expected’ to visit Hungary in the near future. ‘We have always said that it would be good for the world if a new type of leader came along who could be a great American president and from whom the world could expect many good things. We have persevered, and in such a situation, I think that sooner or later he will have to visit Hungary.’
At the beginning of this year, Trump sent a letter to Orbán thanking him for the invitation to Hungary and indicating that his staff would discuss a possible date. A visit ahead of Hungary’s upcoming election in April could significantly boost support for Orbán and his governing Fidesz–KDNP party alliance.
Trump recently shared a post on Truth Social endorsing Viktor Orbán for re-election. ‘Highly respected Prime Minister of Hungary, Viktor Orbán, is truly a strong and powerful leader, with a proven track record of delivering phenomenal results. He fights tirelessly for, and loves, his great country and people, just like I do for the United States of America,’ Trump wrote, adding that he was proud to endorse Orbán in 2022 and honoured to do so again.
Hungarian Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó met Rubio in October last year in Washington, DC, to discuss the planned peace summit between Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Hungary. However, the meeting has not materialized, as Washington stated that Moscow is ‘not ready’ for a peace summit and is unwilling to compromise its position regarding the war in Ukraine.
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