View: Inside the growing Baku-Budapest political alignment

Azerbaijan’s Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov is holding a round of political and energy focused talks in Hungary as both governments work to expand a partnership that has steadily deepened in recent years.

Bayramov is attending the third meeting of the Azerbaijan Hungary Strategic Dialogue, a format launched in 2023 that has quickly become the central channel for shaping the political and economic direction of the relationship. His talks with Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto and other senior officials signal that both sides are ready to move into a more structured phase of cooperation.

Speaking to AnewZ from Baku, Sultan Zahidov said the dialogue “has accelerated faster than expected”, noting that the mechanism now anchors discussions on trade, energy and long term diplomatic coordination. Hungary’s growing role in Azerbaijan’s European outreach, he added, has made continuity in this process essential.

Energy remains the core driver. Hungary is one of the key EU importers of Azerbaijani gas, with volumes expected to rise toward 1 billion cubic metres annually. Zahidov said the route through Türkiye, Greece, Bulgaria and Serbia has strengthened both diversification and Europe’s supply resilience at a time when demand for non Russian alternatives continues to reshape the region’s energy map.

The visit also revives momentum behind the Black Sea subsea cable project, agreed by Azerbaijan, Georgia, Romania and Hungary, which aims to transmit Azerbaijani green electricity directly into European grids. Zahidov described it as “the next layer of the partnership”, connecting the traditional energy track with a longer horizon of renewable integration.

Diplomatically, Azerbaijan and Hungary have drawn closer in international forums, including the UN and the Organisation of Turkic States, where Hungary holds observer status. Zahidov recalled Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s remarks identifying the Turkic world as a foreign policy priority, a position that has helped align Budapest with Baku on several regional files.

He said Hungary’s place inside the EU gives it added relevance as Azerbaijan navigates a complicated moment in its relationship with Brussels. The latest EU approach to the South Caucasus has exposed gaps in understanding, and Zahidov believes Budapest remains well positioned to bring Azerbaijani perspectives into European discussions with greater clarity.

With new transport and energy corridors reshaping Eurasia, Bayramov’s visit underscores a partnership that has moved beyond symbolism into something more operational. Zahidov said the expectations on both sides focus on implementation rather than declarations, from gas expansion to green energy integration and broader regional coordination.

For now, he sees the Baku Budapest alignment advancing through steady diplomacy and shared strategic incentives, with the decisive questions centred on energy security, connectivity and Europe’s evolving role in the South Caucasus.

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