PM Orbán: Ties with Slovakia better than ever

Taking the past ten years into account, ties with Slovakia have never been better than they are today, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said after talks with Slovak counterpart Eduard Heger in his office on Tuesday.

With trade turnover of over 10 billion euros, Slovakia is Hungary’s third biggest trading partner, trailing only Germany and Austria, Orbán told a joint press conference. He added that the year-on-year increase exceeded 9 percent so far this year.

The government is happy to see Slovak investors show an increased interest in Hungary, Orbán said. He welcomed that Hungary continued to see investments from Slovakia in 2020 as well.

“We’ve looked at the last ten years of our partnership,” the prime minister said. “We must say that our ties have never been better than they are today.”

This, Orbán said, required a meeting of two successful countries. He praised the last ten years of Slovakia’s economic achievements as a “fantastic success story”, noting that the two countries also had “shared success stories”.

In terms of the EU’s enlargement with the Western Balkan countries, Hungary and Slovakia “are playing from the same score”, Orbán said, adding that the two countries have an identical approach to the issue of migration and have a high regard for Visegrad cooperation. The V4 are set to meet in Katowice, in south-western Poland, on Wednesday, he said, adding that Hungary would aim to do “the best job possible” in coordinating the cooperation among the four countries.

Concerning Hungary and Slovakia’s shared achievements, Orbán noted the inauguration of a new bridge spanning the Danube between Hungary and Slovakia near Komarom, northern Hungary and the construction of a motorway connecting Miskolc in north-eastern Hungary and Kosice (Kassa) in eastern Slovakia. Also, construction of a new bridge across the River Ipoly is set to begin next week, he said, adding that the two countries will open six new border crossing points between them by 2023.

Furthermore, Hungary and Slovakia have linked their electricity grids and gas pipelines, he said.

Plans are also underway to establish a high-speed rail link between Budapest and Bratislava which will also connect to Prague and Warsaw, Orbán added.

As regards ethnic communities, Orbán said Slovaks living in Hungary would receive all the support they need to preserve their cultural, educational and political identity, adding that the government will also contribute to the establishment of a Slovak cultural centre in Budapest.

Orbán thanked Heger for his “generosity” when it comes to the situation of ethnic Hungarians living in Slovakia, expressing hope that Hungarian and Slovak ethnic minorities would serve as a bridge between the two nations.