President of the Republic of Serbia Aleksandar Vucic assessed, in his address after the first session of the Council, that a strategic step forward has been made in relations between Serbia and Hungary, expressing his gratitude to the Hungarian leadership for assistance in the field of energy.
He said that, thanks to Hungary, Serbia was able to survive the winter calmly, because it had sufficient gas reserves, noting that now there are 560 million cubic meters of gas in storage for Serbia's needs.
The President pointed out that enough oil and diesel have been provided.
Speaking about cooperation in other areas, he mentioned the construction of a high-speed railway from Belgrade to Budapest as well as the construction of new terminals that will make life easier for citizens.
According to him, one of the agreements signed today foresees cooperation in the field of diplomacy, so Hungarian diplomats will be deployed in our mission in Kinshasa and Serbian diplomats in Valletta, which will contribute to savings.
The President also stated that 10 working groups have been formed in charge of consultation in various areas, including those related to the construction of the oil pipeline between Novi Sad and Hungary, gas trade, and unified toll collection.
Political relations are at a very high level, as are relations between people.
Economic relations are also at the maximum level, the trade exchange is €3.6 billion, five times higher than 10 years ago. Hungary is our fifth partner in the world, and the third in the EU, and 10 years ago it was in the 12th place, Vucic pointed out.
He also pointed out that the first agreements in the field of defence and security were signed, even though Hungary is a member of NATO and the EU, while Serbia is not.
We have come to the point where we can be the closest and cooperate most closely on one such important matter. We have many plans on how to protect our countries, our independence, how to help each other, which is a huge step forward, Vucic said.