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The Government of the Republic of Serbia

In the service of citizens

Commodity-trade exchange with Hungary to increase

Belgrade, 17 November 2016

Minister of Economy Goran Knezevic said today that the trade exchange between Serbia and Hungary amounted to €1.1 billion, and that it doubled over the last six years.

Author: Tanjug

After meeting with Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade of Hungary Peter Szijjarto, he said that the aim is to increase the current level of commodity-trade between the two countries, which will be achieved by increasing Serbian exports to Hungary.

Relations between Serbia and Hungary are at historically high levels, he said and highlighted the need for better integration between the two countries by road, rail and water transport, and described as particularly important reconstruction of the Belgrade-Budapest, reminding that the commercial contract on modernisation of this railway line was signed recently in Riga.

The Minister of Economy also stressed the importance of cooperation with Hungary in the field of energy.

According to Knezevic, today's meeting was a preparation for a joint session of the governments of Serbia and Hungary, which will be held on 20 and 21 November in Nis.

This will be an opportunity to invite Hungarian companies to invest in southern Serbia, which is one reason why the region is chosen for the session, said Knezevic, who is also co-chairman of the Joint Commission for Economic Cooperation between Serbia and Hungary.

He also said that one of the topics of today's meeting was the establishment of new border crossings between the two countries and the modernisation of existing ones.

Szijjarto said that in the first eight months of this year, trade between Serbia and Hungary increased by 5% compared to the same period of the previous year as a result of the opening of representative offices of Hungarian companies in Serbia.

He noted that Hungarian companies from the sectors of finance, energy, pharmaceuticals, and water companies are interested in cooperation with Serbia.

The Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade of Hungary also announced that during the upcoming joint session of the two governments in Nis, a regional office of the Hungarian OTP Bank will be opened in Nis.

Also, Szijjarto said that by the results achieved Serbia deserves to be a member of the EU and stressed that the Hungarian national minority has the broadest rights in Serbia that go beyond European standards.