ISTANBUL

Türkiye and Hungary on Monday signed agreements in many fields, including aviation, security, technology, culture, and education, as leaders of the two countries vowed to deepen ties.

Speaking at a joint news conference with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban after a meeting in Istanbul, Recep Tayyip Erdogan said the two countries are close to reaching $6 billion trade volume target.

Orban traveled to Türkiye to attend the seventh meeting of the Türkiye-Hungary High-Level Strategic Cooperation Council.

The Turkish president said they held talks over updating the volume target to $10 billion.

"We implemented 28 joint actions, allocated resources to joint projects" in 2025, which was declared Türkiye-Hungary Year of Science and Innovation, Erdogan added.

The two countries also decided to establish a joint planning group to be chaired by their foreign ministries to enable bilateral and global issues to be addressed in a more institutional manner, he said.

The president said that taking into account the changing security conditions in Europe, "we are evaluating projects — including those that foresee joint production — which will further advance our defense industry cooperation.”

The talks also addressed the current regional and global issues, including developments in the Middle East and Ukraine, Erdogan said, appreciating Budapest's contributions to the work of the Organization of Turkic States, of which it is an observer member.

"We are confident that Hungary will continue its constructive contributions and strong support in our strategic goal of full European Union membership," he added.

On the Russia-Ukraine war, Erdogan said Ankara has been mobilizing all diplomatic resources to establish a just and lasting peace between the parties since the very beginning.

The Turkish president reiterated his country's continued efforts to do its utmost with the motto that "there are no winners in war and no losers in a just peace."

He expressed his confidence that the strategic council meeting "will contribute to further strengthening our relations and the deep-rooted bonds of friendship between our peoples."

Following the leaders' talks, the parties signed 16 agreements in various fields.

Erdogan later hosted a dinner in honor of Orban.