New Delhi: Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has followed the footsteps of his “favourite” explorer, Vasco da Gama, to India. The European leader, who is on a two-week vacation with his wife and two youngest daughters, is currently in Kerala.
In an interview with the Hungarian outlet Blikk, Orbán rejected claims that his visit to India was for medical reasons, saying that he was “perfectly healthy” and people should not get their hopes up just yet.
“My wife and two daughters and I are in South India. We chose this for two reasons: because of the past and the future. Vasco da Gama, whom I loved from my youth novels, died in Kochi—where I am right now,” Orbán said.
“I ‘followed’ in his footsteps. He is my favourite explorer, his importance is at least as great as that of (Christopher) Columbus. That’s all about the past. The other reason we are here is the future. India’s economy is about to explode.”
It is rare for European leaders to vacation in India. However, King Charles III and Queen Camilla made a four-day pitstop at a wellness centre in Bengaluru in late October 2024 before returning to the UK.
The British monarch reportedly stayed at a holistic health centre during a break from the multi-country tour to Australia and Samoa. This was his first foreign visit following his cancer diagnosis earlier in 2024.
Orbán is on vacation following the conclusion of Hungary’s six-month rotational presidency of the Council of the EU, which saw the prime minister jet off to Ukraine and Russia to position himself as a mediator between the two countries. He also met with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Considered one of the few European leaders close to Russian President Vladimir Putin, he walked out of a European Council meeting in December 2023, allowing the remaining 26 leaders of the EU to unanimously agree to the eventual accession of Ukraine to the regional bloc.
In February 2024, he finally agreed to a €50-billion EU aid package for Ukraine. He once declared that Kyiv had no hope of winning on the battlefield and should instead make concessions through diplomacy to end the Russia-Ukraine war.
“The EU presidency was a big event, even for me, a seasoned fighter, I had to put on my pants. We don’t get much rest here in India, but it’s good to get away from the grind at home. If we look at foreign policy, there is a calmer period until Trump takes office, after which the big business starts,” Orbán told Blikk.
He will return to Budapest before 17 January, when he will make an appearance on Kossuth Rádió, a Hungarian state-owned public broadcaster.
On Tuesday, the US slapped sanctions on a key aide of Orbán for suspected corruption. Antal Rogan, who has led Orbán’s cabinet office since 2015, was sanctioned by the administration in Washington, D.C. for using his role to secure financial benefits for himself and his political allies.
On his visit to India, Orbán said, “India is not known for being a tourist paradise. If you are looking for luxury, go to an Austrian ski resort or the Bahamas. If you are interested in culture, come to India!”
India is seen as a country whose “ancient culture and spiritual traditions” along with its “academic and scientific excellence” are deeply attractive to ordinary Hungarians, according to a bilateral brief published by the Ministry of External Affairs.
Orbán has positioned himself as a defender of Christian values in Europe, and has been one of the strongest opponents of the EU’s immigration policies. In 2015 he built a barrier along the borders with Serbia and Croatia at the height of the EU migrant crisis.
The total value of the trade in goods between India and Hungary stood at roughly $868 million in 2023-24, with a positive balance of trade in favour of New Delhi. There have been a number of high-level visits in recent years, with Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto visiting India in February 2024 to participate in an event in New Delhi.
Orbán led a 100-member delegation to India in 2013 and held delegation-level discussions with the then-Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
(Edited by Sanya Mathur)
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