State Secretary Péter Szijjártó opened a Hungarian trading house in Skopje, the capital of Macedonia, on Monday, adding that this was the 12th trading house that Hungary opened abroad.

Hungary considers Macedonia a strategic partner in the development of economic cooperation in the Western Balkans, he stated.

An economic growth of 3 percent in Macedonia, its vicinity to Hungary and excellent political links between the two countries create good opportunities for increasing the role of small and medium-sized enterprises in bilateral trade links, Mr Szijjártó added. The Hungarian government plans to increase the number of SMEs with export potential from the current 2,500-3,000 to 12,000, he said.

After meeting investment minister Jerry Naumof, foreign minister Bekim Naziri and minister in charge of foreign investment Bil Pavleski, Mr Szijjártó said the talks focussed on the ways to involve Hungarian companies in the modernisation of the energy sector in Macedonia.

(Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade)