JOINT STATEMENT ON THE OCCASION OF THE ANNUAL SUMMIT OF
THE PRIME MINISTERS OF THE VISEGRAD GROUP
AND
THE PRIME MINISTER OF THE STATE OF ISRAEL BENJAMIN NETANYAHU
BUDAPEST, HUNGARY 19 JULY 2017
The Heads of Government of Hungary, the Republic of Poland, the Czech Republic, the Slovak
Republic and the Prime Minister of the State of Israel convened in Budapest on 19 July 2017 at
the first summit meeting between the V4 countries and the State of Israel. The participating
countries were represented by H.E. Mr. Viktor Orbán, Prime Minister of Hungary, H.E. Mrs. Beata
Szydło, Prime Minister of the Republic of Poland, H.E. Mr. Bohuslav Sobotka, Prime Minister of
the Czech Republic, H.E. Mr. Robert Fico, Prime Minister of the Slovak Republic and H.E. Mr.
Benjamin Netanyahu, Prime Minister of the State of Israel.
1. Recognizing the shared universal values and principles of human rights and fundamental
freedoms, democracy, market economy, the rule of law and good governance, the V4 and
the State of Israel took note with satisfaction of the extensive political, economic and
cultural ties, which they have developed since the establishment of diplomatic relations
with each other. On the basis of the substantial progress that has been made, the Five
intend to further develop their partnership.
2. The five leaders reiterated their commitment towards the enhancement of EU-Israel
relations in areas of mutual interest, including cooperation on economic, political,
strategic, regional, innovation, and people-to-people issues. To this end, they underlined
the need to promote an improved relationship between the State of Israel and the
European Union and strong interest to convene the EU-Israel Association Council as soon
as possible, which could lead to the setting of new partnership priorities, in accordance
with the reviewed European Neighborhood Policy.
The V4 and the State of Israel welcomed their mutually beneficial economic cooperation
since the establishment of their diplomatic ties. They agreed to promote a sustainable
increase and development of their trade and investment volume.
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