Hungarian President on official visit to Slovenia

Brdo pri Kranju, 8.10.2009  |  press release

The President of the Republic of Slovenia, Dr Danilo Türk, today received the President of the Republic of Hungary, Dr Lászlo Sólyom, on his two-day official visit to Slovenia. After a reception ceremony with military honours, the two presidents had a brief one-on-one meeting, followed by plenary talks between the delegation of the Republic of Slovenia and the delegation of the Republic of Hungary, led by Dr Türk and Dr Sólyom, respectively.

The Slovenian President first highlighted the friendly relations between the two neighbouring countries, pointing to his visit to Budapest last year, his first-ever official visit to a foreign country. Dr Türk emphasised that trade relations between the two countries can be considered excellent, despite the recent decrease in the exchange of goods due to the economic crisis. He expects, however, that the situation will only be temporary and that the bilateral exchange will soon reach the previous annual level of EUR 1.5 billion.

The Hungarian President also assessed bilateral relations as excellent, stating that relations at the civil level should be strengthened, as, in spite of the proximity of Hungary and Slovenia, the people of both countries know relatively little about each other. In Dr Sólyom's opinion, despite the 25% decrease in trade there has also been rapid growth over the past years. However, the two countries should nevertheless make efforts to re-establish the previous trade levels. He indicated that there are large Hungarian companies which, the recession aside, have shown interest in investing in Slovenia.

In the area of economic cooperation, the two presidents touched upon the issue of energy security, whereby they particularly mentioned the construction of the South Stream and Nabucco pipelines and electricity links. President Türk highlighted the inclusion of these projects in a wider European context, while the Hungarian President stressed the importance of cooperation of the new EU Member States in the construction of railway, road and energy infrastructure.

The two dignitaries went on to discuss bilateral cultural cooperation. According to Dr Türk, the Hungarian minority in Slovenia and the Slovene minority in Hungary contribute to the cultural communication between the two countries. He expressed the wish that, in resolving certain issues regarding the Slovene minority, Hungary would proceed with greater intensity, particularly in financing the Slovene national community, which to date has not met the expected level, and in improving conditions for teaching the Slovenian language in Hungarian schools.

Dr Türk advocated a discussion of minority issues in the context of cooperation and improvement. In doing so, he referred to joint projects to assist both minorities within the framework of the Interreg initiative. He also emphasised the importance of infrastructure links in the area populated by the Slovene minority and expressed the wish that more efforts be invested in the construction of the Verica-Gornji Senik road.

President Sólyom expressed his support of the construction of this road and additional funding of schools where classes are held in Slovene. He added that the same importance should be attached to railway lines, as both minorities live in economically weaker areas and therefore can only thrive there if opportunities for economic development and new jobs are provided.

Dr Sólyom agreed that both minorities are part of the society which links the two countries. He stressed the significance of recognition of collective rights of minorities, which is of great importance for Hungary, as a great number of Hungarians live outside the borders of their home country. President Türk shared this opinion, adding that this principle is an important platform, facilitating a more relaxed, practical and non-political search for solutions. Furthermore, President Sólyom advocated a more intensive approach on the part of the European Union in resolving minority issues.

As regards the settlement of minority issues, the two presidents placed great expectations on the planned meeting of the Joint Slovene-Hungarian Commission for the implementation of the bilateral agreement on the protection of minorities, and on the joint session of the Slovenian and Hungarian governments.