Selaković and Szijjártó: The relations between Serbia and Hungary are unprecedented in our modern history
At the press conference after the signing ceremony, Mr. Selaković has said that the relations between the two countries are unprecedented in our modern history, for which President Aleksandar Vučić and Prime Minister Viktor Orbán have great credit, who, with their personal relationship of friendship and as two serious statesmen, have succeeded to bring the relations between Serbia and Hungary and the Serbian and Hungarian people to the path of strong friendship.
Minister Selaković expressed satisfaction with the signed agreement, which, he said, would contribute to reducing congestion at border crossings, but which is also significant from the perspective of building a high-speed railway that will connect Belgrade and Budapest.
Mr. Selaković has added that today he has the opportunity to discuss with his Hungarian colleague the improvement of economic cooperation, the continuation of engagement in infrastructure projects, regional cooperation and global issues.
As he has added, after last year, in which the trade exchange between Serbia and Hungary was recorded at around EUR 2.3 billion, this year, in the first five months, the exchange has already reached around EUR 1.8 billion.
“This”, as he explained, “is a consequence of the increased price of energy products, but also of Hungary's previous serious investments in Serbia”.
“I also use this opportunity to thank my dear friend Szijjártó for his personal involvement in encouraging Hungarian investors to come to Serbia, to invest their capital here and thus contribute to our economic growth and development. Hungary took the fourth place as our most important trade partner,” Mr. Selaković said.
The head of Serbian diplomacy thanked the Minister Szijjártó and Prime Minister Orbán for supporting our European path and for the messages that, from Hungary's perspective, Serbia should immediately become a member of the EU.
Minister Szijjártó has expressed satisfaction with the fact that Hungary and Serbia are writing new chapters of friendship every day, which is reflected in the almost doubled trade exchange in the first half of this year.
“Our biggest undertaking of all time is modernisation of the railway line and in Hungary the work will start on 1st August, which means we will have to open a new border crossing for rail traffic,” Mr. Szijjártó said.
According to him, today half of the gas that Hungary receives comes from Serbia, and this is another excellent result of cooperation.
Szijjártó also referred to illegal migration, which, as he assessed, would be an increasingly serious threat due to the fact that food shortages would occur in parts of the world as a result of the conflict in Ukraine.
“We will not allow any illegal migrants to enter the territory of Hungary and they should not even try to come to Serbia because they will not have the opportunity to continue their journey through Hungary. We will help Serbia to protect its border,” Mr. Szijjártó said.
