Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban speaks at an economic forum of Hungarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Budapest, Hungary, on March 4, 2024. Orban said on Monday that the connection between the West and the East is necessary despite their differences. (Photo by Attila Volgyi/Xinhua)

BUDAPEST, March 4 (Xinhua) -- Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said on Monday that the connection between the West and the East is necessary despite their differences.

In a speech delivered at an economic forum of the Hungarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Orban noted the faster reshaping of the world's economic and political map. "The geopolitical and economic implications of this change are significant because they pose a serious dilemma," he said.

Orban said that Hungary had a unique position to facilitate cooperation and maintain economic opportunities and "we started to think in a global commercial network."

Orban noted two possible options for the debate concerning the West and the East: the West's decoupling, or disconnection, from the rest of the world, and connection.

Though Hungary is part of the West, it does not seek to sever its connections with the East, he said. ■

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban speaks at an economic forum of Hungarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Budapest, Hungary, on March 4, 2024. Orban said on Monday that the connection between the West and the East is necessary despite their differences. (Photo by Attila Volgyi/Xinhua)