PHOTOS: New Ipoly-bridge inaugurated

Hungary continues to be committed to opening as many border crossings with Slovakia as possible, Péter Szijjártó, the foreign minister, said on Friday, on completion of a new bridge spanning the River Ipoly between Drégelypalánk, in northern Hungary, and Slovakia’s Ipelske Predmostie (Ipolyhídvég).

The new bridge costing 2.9 billion forints (EUR 7.6m) was, the minister said, “a milestone” in Hungary’s national strategy programme, adding that building cooperation, especially with neighbouring countries, had been a key government priority since 2010.

Hungary has the longest common border with Slovakia, Szijjártó noted, adding that the 654km border section had only offered 22 crossing points back in 2010.

Following an agreement signed by the two countries in 2014, that number has doubled, Szijjártó said, calling these developments “a success story achieved by Hungary and Slovakia”.

Photo: MTI

Hungary, he said, was ready to continue building further bridges, roads, and railway lines connecting it to Slovakia. The government, he added, was looking forward to an upcoming official visit by Slovak PM Robert Fico next Tuesday, which would offer an opportunity for further talks on the subject.

Meanwhile, Szijjártó said Slovakia was Hungary’s third largest trading partner, with bilateral trade turnover exceeding a record 17 billion euros in 2022.

Photo: MTI

The new bridge replaces a 15th century that was destroyed in the second world war.

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