PHOTOS: Hungarian President met Montenegrin counterpart – UPDATED

President Katalin Novák met Montenegrin counterpart Milo Djukanovic in her office in Sándor Palace on Thursday.

Her office said in a statement that the meeting focused on cooperation between the two countries, challenges of the recent period, the war in Ukraine, the situation in Kosovo and in Bosnia-Herzegovina, and the European Union integration of the Western Balkans.

Hungary’s position is that challenges of the recent period increasingly revealed that problems experienced in Europe can only be handled with the involvement and urgent integration of the Western Balkans, the statement said. The stability of the Western Balkans is an important precondition for European security, it added.

Novak assured the Montenegrin president that Hungary continues to be dedicated to the urgent EU accession of Montenegro and the region.

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Djukanovic expressed appreciation of Hungary’s family policy measures and the country’s dedication to bilateral cooperation in economy, tourism, education and science, as well as the integration of the Western Balkans.

The sides also discussed the increasing pressure of migration on the southern route, and they were in agreement that illegal migration must be stopped, the statement said.

Novák said that Hungary had been making great efforts since 2015 to protect EU borders from illegal migration.

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UPDATE – Central bank governor meets Montenegrin counterpart in Budapest

National Bank of Hungary (NBH) governor György Matolcsy met Montenegrin counterpart Radoje Zugic in Budapest on Friday, the central bank said. The meeting focused on the economic situation of the two countries, the challenges facing the respective central banks, and ways to address them, the statement said. The sides were in agreement that regional cooperation was important, it added.

Zugic expressed thanks for participation in European Union technical support programmes which enables central banks from the Western Balkans to exchange experiences with European colleagues, helping them speed up the introduction of EU standards and legal harmonisation. Matolcsy told the meeting that EU expansion in the Western Balkans was important to Hungary. The NBH is happy to offer professional support to central banks in the region, he added.