Foreign minister inaugurates Hungarian house, honorary consulate in Croatia

Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó inaugurated a Hungarian House and an honorary consulate in Croatia’s port city of Rijeka on Friday.

The roughly 500 Hungarians living in the area, the large number of Hungarian tourists who regularly visit the city as well as the importance of the port of Rijeka for the Hungarian economy were key factors in the government’s decision to reopen the consulate, Szijjártó said.

The relationship between Hungary and Croatia is based on a shared heritage, an 800-year friendship and mutual respect, the minister said, adding that the two countries were keen to continue developing their ties in the future.

Croatia is the second most important investment destination for Hungarian businesses, Szijjártó said.

In spite of the pandemic, the bilateral trade volume in the first ten months of 2020 exceeded 2 million euros, he added.

Szijjártó called the recent opening of the LNG terminal on Krk island a “success story”, through which Hungary had purchased 90 cubic metres of gas for the first time “under a long-term agreement with a non-Russian partner”.

Concerning Rijeka, Szijjártó said that it had the nearest sea port to Hungary, noting that the majority of Hungarian exports to distant countries were transported by sea. Hungary is the third country using that port most frequently, he said, adding that steel maker Dunaferr was its largest customer.

The ceremony was attended by Croatia’s state secretary Frano Matusic, Hungary’s new honorary consul Zoran Vukic, az well as ethnic Hungarian leader Robert Jankovics.

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Source: MTI