Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó held talks with several of his non-European counterparts in New York on Monday, the first day of the United Nations General Assembly. In talks with the leaders of Sierra Leone and Bangladesh, the leaders agreed that Hungary will offer 50 scholarships to students of each country. Hungary and Bangladesh also aim to strengthen economic ties, including cooperation opportunities in the nuclear industry, as the two countries are building similar power plants, he said. Szijjártó and his Uzbek counterpart agreed to continue cooperating in the Ogranization of Turkic States, which set up its Drought Prevention Institute in Budapest in appreciation of Hungary’s water management technologies, he said. Exports to Malaysia could also grow thanks to a recent agriculture agreement, he said. At the meeting with Ecuador’s foreign minister, “it felt especially good to talk about our shared Christian values and traditions”, especially since Quito is slated to host the International Eucharistic Congress which was held in Budapest in 2021. “We have held important talks … and this is only the first day,” Szijjártó said.