“The Visegrád Group – the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia – is the most successful group in Europe, and Slovakia is a friend and an important ally to Hungary”, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó declared at the official inauguration of the new Hungarian Embassy in Bratislava.

In his speech, Hungary’s chief diplomat said: The new building we have inaugurated today is finally a worthy expression of what Hungary thinks about its relationship with Slovakia and the fact that it views it as a friend and important ally to which it is connected by “half a million links” and “success stories such as the V4”.

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“The Visegrád Group has shown its strength both economically and politically in view of the fact that today the V4 is the European Union’s economic powerhouse, and politically it has made it absolutely clear that it cannot be ignored”, he explained.

“Today, Hungary and Slovakia have a balanced relationship, which has not always been the case, and this provides us with an opportunity to also make progress with relation to difficult issues”, Mr. Szijjártó said.

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“A host of new border crossing stations have been established, the new Danube Bridge is under construction at Komárom/Komárno, annual trade flow between the two countries is approaching 10 billion euros, a gas interconnection has been established between the two countries, and a similar connection of our electricity networks is also planned”, he pointed out.

In his speech at the inauguration of the new Hungarian Embassy, Slovakian State Secretary for Foreign Affairs and acting Minister Ivan Korčok also stressed the excellent quality of bilateral relations, pointing out that the outstanding quality of relations can now be felt in all fields.

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The new integrated foreign office building, which in addition to the Hungarian Embassy will house the Hungarian Institute, the Hungarian Consulate and the country’s business representation, was completed as a result of a two-year project and is Hungary’s first embassy complex of its kind. The new Embassy is located in a reconstructed historic building at a representative location in Bratislava’s Old Town district, immediately next to the Grassalkovich Palace, which serves as the Presidential Palace.

Following the inauguration ceremony, Péter Szijjártó and Ivan Korčok held bilateral talks.

(MTI)