"We are conscious of our right to have our voice heard" as much as that of western European countries, PM Orbán said.Continue reading
The newly signed agreement between Hungary and Slovenia will enable more comprehensive cooperation between the two countries and form the basis for further developing bilateral relations, Slovenian Prime Minister Janez Jansa said on Monday.
Jansa told a joint press conference with Hungarian counterpart Viktor Orbán in Lendva (Lendava) that the first agreement on the protection of the respective minorities on the two sides of the Hungary-Slovenia border had been signed 30 years ago. The current agreement covers so far unaddressed matters, he added.
The prime ministers signed an agreement on a joint fund to develop the mixed-population Prekmurje and Raba regions in 2022-2026 by providing an annual 5 million euros for each.
A cooperation agreement on setting up the fund was signed by Jansa and Orban in Celje last September.
Trade between the two countries increased by 20 percent last year compared to the previous year “which demonstrates that businesses on both sides of the border discovered previously untapped opportunities”, he said.
Hungary is Slovenia’s seventh largest foreign trade partner, Jansa said, adding that he expected this to change in the near future considering that “economic ties between neighbourly countries are twice as useful” as between non-neighbours.
He said that elections were to take place in both countries in April and expressed hope that cooperation between Hungary and Slovenia would continue “regardless of what awaits us after the elections”.
In response to a question, Jansa said cutting energy prices would be impossible without nuclear energy.
Commenting on the Ukraine crisis, he said “I think I can say for both of us that we trust the conflict would not escalate because that would be against everybody’s interests”. He said there was consensus in the EU about the need for a peaceful solution and warned that even a hybrid attack could cause plenty of damage, even if there is no armed conflict.
Prior to the press conference, foreign ministry state secretary Levente Magyar and Slovenian Minister of Education, Science and Sport Simona Kustec signed an agreement about a Hungarian-Slovenian educational, scientific and cultural program for 2022-2025.
Featured photo by Zoltán Fischer/PM’s Press Office