Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and Serbian President Tomislav Nikolic held talks on bilateral economic, investment-related, cross-border and cultural relations in Belgrade on Tuesday.

President Nikolic began the meeting by expressing his thanks to Prime Minister Orbán for Hungary's assistance during and after the heavy flooding that hit Serbia in May.

The two sides said that over the past centuries the two nations had been bound by a common struggle against great powers. They agreed that conflicts during the second half of the 20th century should be left to memory, and the two countries should instead focus on their common future. The Serbian President said that the ethnic Hungarian minority in Vojvodina served as a link between the two nations and emphasised that maintaining good relations is a common interest.

Prime Minister Orbán reiterated that Hungary supports Serbia's integration into Europe. "We politicians are aware that there is no problem-free situation…EU membership includes many advantages but one should also be aware of the existence of problems", he said.

Adopting a "special model", Hungary has managed to "escape from the economic crisis" – an attitude that has generated conflict, but proven to be "sound and realistic," according to Viktor Orbán.

Together, the Hungarian Prime Minister and the Serbian President opened the Hungarian Cultural Centre in Belgrade. In the afternoon, a Serbian-Hungarian government summit will be held with the participation of Viktor Orbán, Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Tibor Navracsics, Minister of Interior Sándor Pinter, Minister of Defence Csaba Hende, and Minister of National Development Miklós Seszták. During the meeting, the two delegations are scheduled to sign bilateral agreements.

At the press conference following the Hungarian-Serbian summit, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said that the Russian-backed South Stream gas pipeline project is a must. “No one can take away from us the right to realise the security of our energy supplies", Mr. Orbán said, adding that anyone who opposes the South Stream pipeline “only wants to take away our right to a secure energy supply without offering anything in its place”. “We must stick to our guns on building the South Stream”, the Prime Minister said, adding that he had assured Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic that “this is what we are going to do”.

The Hungarian Prime Minister also brought up the idea of connecting the two countries’ electricity markets.

(Prime Minister’s Office)