“Now that the epidemic situation has eased, economic protection has become the most important joint task for Hungary and Slovenia”, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó declared on Thursday in Budapest after receiving Slovenian Minister of Economic Development and Technology Sdravko Počivalšek.

At the joint press conference, Mr Szijjártó emphasised that economic cooperation between the two countries is strong, and their success is also dependent on each other. “The epidemic also highlighted the extent to which Slovenia and Hungary are dependent on each other, and we remained in continuous contact throughout the state of emergency. The first phase of protection has come to a successful close, and as a result we were also able to open our joint border in June”, he added.

According to the Minister, the Slovenian government was in a particularly difficult position in view of the fact that the current administration took over the government of the country at the height of the epidemic, but it nevertheless performed its tasks outstandingly. From amongst the most pressing tasks, Mr. Szijjártó highlighted the reinforcement of energy security in the hope that Hungarian-Slovenian cooperation may also achieve success within this field. He added that the electricity networks of the two countries will be connected by the end of 2021, after which their natural gas systems will also be interconnected. “The related agreement has been concluded, and the Slovenian cabinet has categorised it as a priority project. If it I realised, Hungary will have access to Italy’s liquid natural gas (LNG) terminals, and the path to Hungarian gas storage capacities will become open to Slovenia”, he added.

“The two countries’ administrations have also agreed to draw up a joint economic development strategy for the Mura and Rába regions. The Hungarian government will be supplying the necessary resources, which will be simultaneously favourable to both Hungarians living in the Mura region and to the Slovenian minority living in Hungary”, the Minister stated. Praising economic cooperation, Mr. Szijjártó said that the volume of Slovenian-Hungarian trade flow exceeds 2.5 billion euros, Hungarian enterprises view the Slovenian market as particularly important, and some 650 thousand Hungarian tourists visited Slovenia last year.

The Hungarian government is facilitating cooperation between enterprises from the two countries with a 360-million-euro credit line. The Minister said the development of self-driven vehicles is particularly important, and accordingly he hopes that the international test corridor being constructed near to the triple Hungarian-Slovenia-Austrian border will contribute significantly to joint successes.

He also evaluated the fact that 652 local entrepreneurs and farmers have received a total of 2.4 billion forints (EUR 6.74 million) in funding from the Hungarian government within the framework of the Mura Region Economic Development Program as a success. As a result, settlements populated by Hungarians in Slovenia have benefited from 3.7 billion forints (EUR 10.39 million) in investment. “Hungary is ready for the further expansion of cooperation in view of the fact that both governments are protecting their national interests and must face strong international attacks as a result”, Mr. Szijjártó explained.

Sdravko Počivalšek welcomed the fact that cooperation between the two states is improving from year to year, and that Slovenia can also regard Hungary as one of its most important partners from an economic perspective. However, the Minister said he sees further opportunities for increasing trade flow, and said the development of energy and rail links is particularly important.

Similarly to Mr. Szijjártó, the Slovenian Minister also highlighted the joint development of self-driven vehicles. “Both the Slovenian and Hungarian economies rely to a significant extent on the automotive industry, and accordingly the sectors development projects hold cooperation opportunities for the two countries”, he added. Mr. Počivalšek also agreed with the Hungarian government that protecting jobs is the most important current task, and that consumption must be encouraged in the interests of an economic upturn. According to the Minister, the development of cross-border regions is also contributing to economic recovery, for which reason he expressed his thanks for Hungary’s budgetary funding in the interests of developing the Mura region.

He also expressed his appreciation for the development of tourism relations, and said he hopes Slovenia will be able to welcome even more Hungarian guests if the tourist season is successfully extended to include the whole of the year. Ha also indicated that Hungary will also be able to join the Celje international fair if the event cannot be held in September of this year according to plan, but has to be postponed until 2021.

Mr. Počivalšek thanked Hungary for its assistance during the virus epidemic, and for its openness with relation to solving problems. “Slovenia is also always open to developing relations, because as a small country it knows that it can achieve greater result while working in solidarity with others”, he added.

(Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade / MTI)