Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson will travel to Budapest on Friday ahead of the hoped-for approval from the Hungarian parliament, the last holdout, for the Scandinavian nation's entry into NATO.
At the invitation of Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, Kristersson will visit the Hungarian capital, the Swedish government announced on Tuesday.
The agenda for the two leaders includes talks about security and defence policy cooperation and preparations for Hungary's upcoming presidency of the Council of the EU. A joint press conference will follow the meeting.
Sweden has been struggling to get its NATO application ratified by Hungary, which is the sole remaining country of the 31-member defence alliance that has not yet agreed to Swedish membership.
Most recently, representatives of the Hungarian ruling party Fidesz had made a visit by Kristersson to Budapest a condition for ratification. The Swedish leader seemed open to such a trip but indicated that a visit post-NATO ratification made more sense.
The Hungarian parliament is now expected to approve Sweden's accession to NATO on Monday: Fidesz parliamentary group leader Máté Kocsis requested that the issue be put on the agenda of that day's plenary session.
