Szalay-Bobrovniczky: Serbia-Hungary cooperation raised to even higher level

BELGRADE - After a meeting with Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, Hungarian Defence Minister Kristof Szalay-Bobrovniczky said a plan of bilateral military cooperation signed by Serbia and Hungary raised the cooperation between the two countries to an even higher level.

At a press conference with Vucic, Szalay-Bobrovniczky said cooperation in many fields, including military cooperation, had been very successful to date. 

"At international level, it is very important that there is cooperation with neigbouring countries such as Serbia and that the two countries always hold consultations. Serbia is not in the EU, but we have consultations at the highest level," Szalay-Bobrovniczky explained. 

He expressed the confidence Hungary was able to help modernisation and overall development in Serbia, and that, in 2023, bilateral cooperation had been expanded to include the military sector as well. 

"Today, we went through the entire plan for the current year in detail. Serbian-Hungarian relations have been raised to an even higher level when it comes to military cooperation. Expert consultations, military training, mapping and consultations have been agreed," he said. 

That contributes to further development of bilateral cooperation and to strengthening of peace and stability in the Western Balkans, he said. 

Szalay-Bobrovniczky noted that Hungary was always on the side of peace and an ally of Serbia in that regard. Hungary is an advocate of EU enlargement, including Serbia's accession to the union, he said. 

"During our EU presidency, we kept highlighting the significance of enlargement and we worked on contributing to that with all our resources," he said.a When it comes to military cooperation, Hungary has always persevered in helping Serbia to preserve peace, Szalay-Bobrovniczky said.