On Friday, President Duda took part in celebrations marking Polish-Hungarian Friendship Day in Kaposvár, Hungary, where he met with President Tamás Sulyok. During his speech, the Hungarian president emphasized the significance and long history of Polish-Hungarian friendship; he also thanked Duda for nurturing it throughout his own 10-year term.
He noted that during their meeting, the two leaders discussed, among other things, Hungary’s presidency of the Council of the EU (which concluded at the end of 2024), the ongoing Polish presidency, as well as matters related to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. “We have a deep hope that this war, which has been raging in our neighborhood for three years now, may soon come to an end,” the Hungarian president said.
President Duda agreed. “We hope that the war in Ukraine will end with a just and lasting peace—one that ensures the existence of a sovereign, independent Ukrainian state—and thus safeguards our part of Europe from Russian imperialism,” he remarked.
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Duda drew attention to the joint initiatives “successfully carried out” by Poland and Hungary in cooperation with other Central European countries—particularly under the framework of the Three Seas Initiative and the Visegrád Group. He noted that a Three Seas Summit would be held in late April in Warsaw, with both presidents in attendance.
The Polish leader also underscored the importance of defense spending. He recalled his proposal for NATO member states to allocate at least 3 percent of their GDP to defense. He expressed hope that this would become a topic for “serious discussion” among NATO defense and foreign ministers, and eventually “the subject of debate and a vote at the NATO summit in The Hague” this June.
Duda also said he hoped that his successor—who will be elected in the May elections—would continue efforts to develop relations with Budapest and advance Polish-Hungarian friendship.
A declaration establishing March 23 as the Day of Friendship between the two nations was adopted on March 12, 2007, by the Hungarian Parliament. A few days later, the Polish Sejm passed a similar resolution. Last year, the Presidents of Poland and Hungary met in Stary Sącz, Poland, as part of those celebrations.