Hungary and the United States on Friday, November 7, signed a memorandum of understanding in the field of nuclear energy. The document was signed by Hungary’s Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto and the U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio. The head of Hungarian diplomacy called the signing an important milestone in Hungarian-American relations.
According to the U.S. State Department, the memorandum envisages beginning negotiations on cooperation in civil nuclear energy, including on small modular reactors (SMRs) and spent fuel storage.
Main Provisions and Implications of the Agreement
“The United States and Hungary are cooperating to make Budapest the center of a new SMR market in Central Europe, leveraging leading American innovations in nuclear energy to launch a new transatlantic industry.”
– press release
Hungary plans to support the construction of up to 10 small modular reactors with a potential value of up to $20 billion.
Additionally, following a meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump, Orbán announced a deal with the American company Westinghouse to supply American nuclear fuel for Hungary’s Paks I nuclear power plant. The contract is valued at about $114 million.
Moreover, Hungary has committed to purchasing liquefied natural gas from the United States, which will allow Budapest to diversify its energy sources more rationally. The expected value of contracts in this area is around $600 million.
Trump said he is concerned about the issue of importing Russian energy resources by European countries. But he believes Hungary faces a “worse situation” because the country has no access to the sea. The main result of the meeting between the U.S. and Hungarian leaders, according to Foreign Minister Szijjarto, was that Washington granted Hungary “full and unrestricted relief from sanctions on oil and gas.”
“full and unrestricted relief from oil and gas sanctions”
– Peter Szijjarto
Orbán also stated assurances from the United States that Hungary would be exempt from sanctions on Russian energy supplies.
Sanctions against Russian companies – in the context of recent events: on October 15, the United Kingdom expanded its sanction list against Russia, notably including Rosneft and Lukoil; on October 22, the U.S. Department of the Treasury announced sanctions against Rosneft, Lukoil and their subsidiaries. The list counts more than 34 companies. The reason is Russia’s lack of serious commitment to a peaceful process aimed at ending the war in Ukraine.
Against these developments, Kirill Dmitriev, head of the Russian Direct Investment Fund, who sits on the Kremlin’s negotiating group, visited the United States.