Infrastructure projects bridge to closer ties between Hungary and Lithuania

Infrastructure projects can serve as a bridge to closer ties between Hungary and Lithuania, President János Áder said in Vilnius after talks with his Lithuanian counterpart, Dalia Grybauskaite, on Tuesday.

One project is the transnational Via Carpathia highway network, the Hungarian section of which is expected to be completed by 2022, Áder told a joint press conference. Lithuania has made good progress in building its own motorways linked to the project, he added.

Other projects include connecting the energy networks of the countries west of Russia to reduce their dependence on Russian gas, he noted.

North-south bi-directional gas deliveries are highly important, he said.

Dalia Grybauskaite noted potential in further boosting bilateral trade volume.

The Lithuanian president said the “two countries are involved together in the whirl of several processes”, including transatlantic security cooperation.

She thanked Hungary for patrolling the airspace over the three Baltic states in a joint mission with Germany in 2015 and invited Hungary to join a similar mission in the future.