Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó was in Washington this week to take part in an international counter-terrorism summit and the unveiling of Hungary’s new embassy in Washington. Szijjártó used the trip to meet with Sebastian Gorka, member of the Trump administration’s national security staff, and Jason Greenblatt, the Trump administration’s Special Representative for International Negotiations.

Sebastian Gorka, who was born in England to Hungarian parents, has something of a controversial past. Aside from suspicions of the legitimacy of his academic credentials, Gorka’s close ties to far-right anti-Semitic groups in Hungary and use of a title that was granted to his grandfather by Hungary’s Nazi-allied interwar leader Miklós Horthy have prompted some to question how Gorka could even be granted US citizenship.

Online daily hvg.hu reports that Szijjártó also spoke at a dinner party hosted on Tuesday night by the American Hungarian Business Council where, before representatives of US businesses with operations in Hungary, he praised the Hungarian government’s “patriotic” and “unconventional” economic policies.

According to hvg.hu, Szijjártó used his dinner soapbox to emphasize how changes in the world are affecting political and economic strategic decisions.

“Many of these changes are coming from the United States, from Washington, and Hungary is excited to see the new American perspective,” Szijjártó said.

The foreign minister also reportedly said that the United States is undergoing a new American economic policy shift and that Hungary is well-poised to improve its competitiveness.