Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó spoke to Ma7.sk about the representation of Hungarian interests across the border. According to the head of the ministry, local Hungarian interest representation is particularly important because it has a positive effect on bilateral relations: "If there was a strong Hungarian party in the government coalition in Bratislava, it could help bilateral relations," he pointed out.
Slovakia is Hungary's second most important trading partner, with bilateral trade increasing by 43 percent this year. Next year, we will hand over three Ipoly bridges, a cross-border road and a ferry connection.
Previously, we did not allow ourselves to be dissuaded from connecting our energy networks after connecting the gas pipelines. I think you should focus on things like that. That is why I asked my Slovak colleague, these issues dominate the agenda, and we should not burden bilateral relations with unnecessary statements
– Péter Szijjártó emphasized the importance of Hungarian-Slovak relations in an interview given to the Ma7 media family in the Uplands. The minister visited Bratislava in December, where he sat at the negotiating table with Rastislav Kácer, Slovak foreign minister.
Earlier, Kácer indicated that Slovakia does not consider the consequences of the Benes decrees to be a minority issue.
In this regard, Péter Szijjártó said that there are issues on which we take different positions, and this is perhaps even more prominent in the context of the war in Ukraine, but there is much more agreement between us than disputes. He added: Hungarians and Slovaks are in contact with each other over hundreds of kilometers, and in addition, a Hungarian community lives in Slovakia, and a Slovak community lives in Hungary.
During the prime ministership of Robert Fico, a new dimension opened up in Slovak-Hungarian relations. We acted together to stop illegal migration, connected natural gas pipelines and opened new border crossings. But here is Igor Matovic from the other side, who as prime minister always protected us, in Brussels, we fought together if necessary.
he said.
The head of the ministry emphasized
if the Hungarian interest representation in the given country is strong, it has a good effect on bilateral relations.
He added: the governmental role of the Romanian Hungarian Democratic Union (RMDSZ) specifically helps in the continuous improvement of Hungarian-Romanian relations, and the Vojvodina Hungarian Union (VMSZ) is considered strong in Belgrade, which provides a number of state secretaries to the Serbian government, and this is also good for relations.
Source and full article: vasarnap.hu/Ma7.sk
Featured image: dailynewshungary.com
