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.

She added that Hungary had sent troops to Lithuania during the occupation of the Crimean Peninsula.

Áder noted that the two countries had to fight for their freedom and independence several times over the past centuries. Now they are connected by the European Union and NATO, he said.

Áder said the two countries agreed that Europe should defend its borders and guarantee security for its citizens.

Grybauskaite said the two countries adopted identical positions on the European Union’s major strategic issues, such as Brexit, European economic cooperation and the EU budget.

After the talks, Áder laid a wreath at the memorial of Lithuanian freedom fighters in Antakalnis Cemetery where German, Lithuanian, Polish and Russian soldiers had been buried.

Featured image : MTI

The president also inspected Lithuania’s Act of Independence.

In the afternoon Ader is scheduled to meet Prime Minister Saulius Skvernelis and House Speaker Viktoras Pranckietis.