Another Ipoly bridge will be built between Hungary and Slovakia by the end of next year, on one side at Őrhalom and on the other at Ipolyvarbó, which will make life easier for the border communities and is also important for the development of the economy, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó announced on Friday.

According to the ministry's statement, the head of the department highlighted the cornerstone of the development, which will be implemented with the co-financing of HUF 2.3 billion by the European Union: "we are writing another chapter in the book about the success story of cooperation between Hungary and Slovakia". He underlined: "Hungarians and Slovaks can rightfully be proud of the fact that we shelter hundreds of thousands of refugees from Ukraine in our countries, thus ensuring them peace and tranquility. Acknowledgment of the Slovak authorities, church organizations and volunteers for the fantastic work they are doing, like their Hungarian counterparts, in order to provide for those coming from Ukraine."

In his speech, he underlined that in the current war situation, the importance of calm and peace increases, for which he believes that both sides have done a lot in recent years. In the past, serious difficulties hindered good relations, but the decision was made to create the basis of mutual trust by building joint success stories , so today the bilateral relationship is calm and balanced, he said. He cited as an example that bilateral trade reached 13 billion euros last year, with an increase of 27 percent, setting a record. In this regard, he emphasized that Slovakia has now become the second most important trading partner of our country and one of the main destination countries for Hungarian capital.

In Hungary, seven hundred Slovak-owned companies employ more than five thousand people. "We Hungarians and Slovaks are interested in peace, we want peace in this region as soon as possible, and we will do everything we can to achieve this with our means," he stated.

Péter Szijjártó also touched on the connection of the gas and electricity networks, which he called extremely important from the point of view of the security of the energy supply. "The more connections are made, the closer the relationship is between the two nations, the easier people's lives are, and it is all the more true that the border does not separate us, it does not connect us," he said .

He said: there are road connections at thirty-five places on the border of the two countries, twelve of which were built since 2010 , and six important developments are currently underway, including the construction of three bridges over Ipolyon. In addition, a road connection will be created between Nagyrozvágy and Nagygéres, a ferry connection will be established at Neszmély, and a pedestrian bridge will be built at Dunakiliti. All of the developments will be completed by the end of next year. "We are taking another step to ensure that people can enjoy the good political relations between the two countries in their daily lives," he declared.

Source: MTI

(Cover photo: MTI/Szilárd Koszticsák)