“The countries of the Visegrád Group (V4) and the United Kingdom agree on the importance of integrating the Western Balkan region, and on the fact that this process must be accelerated”, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó said in a statement following talks between the V4 foreign ministers with their British counterpart Boris Johnson on the sidelines of Friday’s summit of NATO foreign ministers in Brussels.

According to the statement, which was issued on Friday morning, the parties also agree that partner states that work in cooperation with NATO must be afforded the opportunity for closer cooperation and that the organisation’s open doors policy must remain in place.

“The integration of the Western Balkan region is in the economic and security interests of all of Europe”, Mr. Szijjártó stressed.

The Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade was the host of the five-party meeting.

(Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade/MTI)