Foreign minister: Cooperation in Central Europe crucial for Hungary

Hungary has “always attached great significance” to the cooperation between central European countries, the foreign minister said in Zagreb after inaugurating Hungary’s new embassy compound together with his Croatian counterpart, on Thursday.

“Croatia is our ally, a friend and a good neighbour,” Péter Szijjártó told a joint press conference held with Marija Pejcinovic Buric.

He said Croatia is a popular destination for Hungarians, noting that 655,000 visited seaside resorts there last year. Hungarian tourists contributed 400 million euros to Croatia’s tourism revenues in 2018, Szijjártó added.

The minister said the world was changing “at an unprecedented pace” with new conditions in global politics and economy under which “stability, rationality and predictability, traits of central Europe”, have become highly valued.

Countries in the region have understood the importance of cooperation, making them stronger, Szijjártó said.

The foreign minister noted that Hungary-Croatia bilateral trade exceeded 2.2 billion euros in 2018. The largest Hungarian companies are present in Croatia, he said, adding that Hungarian businesses had recorded 4 billion euros worth of investments so far.