Hungarian foreign minister pays courtesy call on Marcos

To strengthen ties between the Philippines and Hungary, President Ferdinand ''Bongbong'' Marcos Jr. on Thursday welcomed Peter Szijjarto, Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade, at the Malacañang Palace. 

''Well, I'm very happy to welcome you once again to the Philippines,'' Marcos said during Szijarto's courtesy call on him. 

''I hope that with all that is happening around the world and all of the opportunities, of course there are challenges, and all the opportunities also that is --- that we'll be able to hopefully forge new relationships,'' he added. 

Marcos mentioned that many Filipinos have chosen to live and work in Hungary. 

"And so, it seems that they have found a new place for them to find some better opportunities for themselves. But welcome once again to the Philippines,'' the President said.

In response, Szijarto expressed gratitude to the President for his warm welcome towards him. 

''Thank you so much for the invitation. You have great secretaries with whom I’ll be working together for a long time. This is the third occasion that I have the honor to visit your fantastic country,'' Szijarto said. 

Szijarto said there is still a big room for improvement between the countries' ties. —LDF, GMA Integrated News