Hungarian foreign ministry state secy discusses econ cooperation with Slovenia

Ljubljana (MTI) – Enhancing Hungarian-Slovenian economic cooperation was the main topic during recent talks of Laszlo Szabo, the foreign ministry’s parliamentary state secretary, in Ljubljana.

Assessing his visit, Szabo told MTI over the phone on Wednesday that he held talks with Dragoljuba Bencina, the Slovenian foreign ministry’s state secretary in charge of economic diplomacy and bilateral EU affairs. They agreed that the two countries’ relations are not burdened by any open political issues but they could more effectively support one another on certain matters.

Hungary’s economy has performed rather strongly among the Visegrad Four countries and Slovenia’s economy has also shown good economic growth figures within the grouping they form with the Czech Republic and Poland, they agreed. By working more closely together in representing their interests in Brussels, and in the circles of leading investors in world markets, the four countries can be more successful, it was agreed, said Szabo.

He said he held talks with Ales Cantarutti, state secretary at the economic development and technology ministry, and they agreed that bilateral trade relations should be boosted. The possibility of opening a joint mission to represent the two countries in third countries was also explored, he said.

Szabo said his talks with Metod Dragonja, state secretary at the finance ministry, focused mainly on the privatisation process in Slovenia.

He said he held talks with Klemen Grebensek, state secretary at the infrastructure ministry, and they discussed major infrastructural projects, as well as the significance of the planned European energy union and energy independence.

Szabo said he started his official visit in Koper, which is the main port for the exports and imports of Hungarian goods and explored investment cooperation possibilities in exporting Hungarian goods to far-flung markets.

Source: http://mtva.hu/hu/hungary-matters