From the point of view of Hungarian security, Serbia plays an outstanding role, which is why the leaders of the two countries have decided on new strategic investments in energy transport and electricity infrastructure, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán announced on Thursday after the meeting of the Hungarian-Serbian strategic cooperation council.
At a joint press conference with Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić, Orbán said Serbia and Hungary will work together on projects related to crude oil transport, gas transport, electricity pipeline construction, as well as natural gas trade and storage. They will also modernize the Röszke-Horgos border crossing.
Orbán pointed out that Serbia has become a critical and secure energy transit corridor for Hungary, with the country’s energy supply increasingly going through Serbia due to the war in Ukraine.
Other announcements included that the joint electricity exchange between the two countries will be operational from the end of the year; the Budapest-Belgrade railway line will be completed by 2026; and the Röszke-Horgos highway border crossing will be made into the “most modern, fastest and most cultured border crossing in Europe.”
The two countries now boast some 180 signed joint agreements, Vučić said, with plans for the further development of energy cooperation, the planned expansion of the Horgos-Röszke border crossing, and the strengthening of military cooperation.
The Serbian president also thanked Hungary for its support for Serbia’s EU integration and highlighted the importance of both countries managing to stay out of the Russian-Ukrainian war, saying: “If there is no peace, there is no economy, no development, no progress in any social sphere.”
The Serbian head of state said that Hungarian-Serbian relations have become much deeper in recent years from a political and economic point of view, but also from the point of view of people-to-people relations. “Serbia will always be Hungary’s ally, just as we know that Hungary will always be Serbia’s ally,” he said.
