“Hungary and Serbia are close strategic partners and this is something that would have been out of the question just a few years ago”, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó stressed on Friday in Belgrade following talks with Serbian Foreign Minister Ivica Dačić and Prime Minister Aleksandar Vučić.
In a statement to Hungarian news agency MTI, Mr. Szijjártó added: “Serbia’s integration into the European Union is in Hungary’s national security and economic interests, and according Hungary is calling for the European Union to conclude its accession negotiations with Serbia by 2020”.
“The parties agreed that the first bilateral EU official visit of the Serbian Foreign Minister’s government since it took office in August will be to Hungary on 2-3 October and the next session of the Hungarian-Serbian Joint Economic Committee will take place on 15 October, in addition to which the two governments will hold another joint cabinet meeting in Southern Serbia this autumn. Furthermore, a permanent inter-governmental committee will be established to enable continuous consultation on economic and social policy decisions”, the Minister explained.
The parties also agreed that there must be a European response to the immigration crisis and that “we must be capable of protecting ourselves, and accordingly Hungary will be sending more police to Serbia’s southern border to assist in protecting the border”.
Increasing tensions have developed in the Western Balkan region recently, and this is also a danger because if a new wave of immigration sets out then it could sweep through the region within hours. “The Serbs fully understand that the fence isn’t aimed against them, because it was not they who arrived by the tens of thousands to illegally cross our border. This is precisely why we are helping Serbia protect its southern border, to save them from finding themselves in a difficult situation if another wave of migration sets out for Europe. The further south the line of defence, the better”, he stressed.
“Economic relations between the two countries are also developing increasingly well”, Mr. Szijjártó said. Bilateral trade flow between the two countries increased by 5.3 million euros during the first half of 2016, exceeding 900 million euros, meaning Serbia is now one of Hungary’s twenty most important trade partners, while Hungary is Serbia’s fourth most important trade partner within the European Union. The parties agreed to do even more to promote cooperation between enterprises, something that will be facilitated by the fact that the Hungarian National Trading House and Eximbank have both opened representations in Belgrade.
“Work on opening the two new border crossing points between Hungary and Serbia will continue”, the Minister said, detailing Friday’s discussions. “We will be submitting a joint tender for the refurbishing of the Szeged-Szabadka-Baja railway line, which will mean a significant step forward for Hungarians and Serbs living in the vicinity of the border and will make life easier for them”, he added.