The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade’s Minister of State for Economic Diplomacy, Levente Magyar, held talks in Kosovo on Tuesday, including on the launching of a direct air passenger route; the Budapest-Pristina route, which will be launched this week, will be operated by Wizz Air, which has its headquarters in Hungary.

In a telephone interview to Hungarian news agency MTI from Pristina, the Minister of State said the direct air link was being realised with the help of financing from the Hungarian Government and would initially take off twice-a-week.

Mr. Magyar highlighted the fact that the Hungarian-Kosovan Joint Economic Committee had held its first ever session during his visit, at which several projects and major Hungarian investment opportunities were discussed. The parties plan to hold regular meetings of the Committee in future.

The Minister of State also said that infrastructure projects would be realised in accordance with the 62 million euro loan agreement concluded with the Kosovan Government, and the interest-free loan provides Hungarian enterprises with contracting opportunities in Kosovo.

Negotiations are also underway on the construction of Kosovo’s national football stadium in view of the fact that the national team currently plays its matches in Albania because it lacks its own stadium at home. The construction of the stadium would also be realised using Hungarian financing and with the involvement of Hungarian construction industry enterprises. No agreement has been finalised as yet, but the Hungarian party is striving to achieve the best possible terms, he told the press.

Mr. Magyar also mentioned that the number of Kosovan students receiving Stipendium Hungaricum scholarships to attend Hungarian universities has been raised to 50.

The Minister of State reviewed current topics with half a dozen Kosovan officials, including the Minister for Culture, Youth and Sport, the Minister of Environment and Regional Development and the Minister of Finance, in addition to which a Hungarian-Kosovan business forum was also organised.

(MTI)