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So just this week, something important will happen, because the so-called Serbian-Hungarian Cooperation Council, which is the highest-level cooperation body between the two nations, will see each other and meet in Budapest. And 12 working groups will put together the ideas, and by that we’ll raise the highest possible level of the cooperation between Serbia and Hungary, focusing mostly on trade and economic issues – because we would like to deliver something good for the people and to the families. So we would not just like good, let’s say philosophical and emotional friendship between the two countries, but we would like to have a friendship which results in a better life for the people of Serbia and for the families of Hungary as well. So we concentrate on trade and economy, and I think we will make some important decisions, which shows that there is a big – still big – potential in the cooperation of the two countries. And especially what your President Aleksandar Vučić achieved in the recent years on trade, international trade, is really attractive and highly appreciated in Hungary. So we would like to be part of that good move and good policy as well.
RTV Pink: So when can we expect results from the meetings?
There is the trade between the two countries and we have a plan to raise the volume of the trade more and more. Now we are very close to have a big Serbian investment also in Hungary. Hungarians regularly do some investment in Serbia, but it should be a two-way road. And we would like to see more and more entrepreneurs and businessmen from Serbia come to Hungary and to invest and to make better the business potential of the Hungarian economy – not just in Serbia, but in Hungary. So now I think it’s a more balanced relationship in terms of economy as well, so as an outcome of that meeting could be that the Serbs will appear with a bigger body and heavier presence in the Hungarian economy as well.
You were the host of summit European Political Community. Now from this perspective, are you satisfied how was the summit and the main message that were sent from Budapest? Do you think that Europe is now more united than before, or not?
The summit from an organizational side was exceptionally challenging. Fortysomething leaders, Prime Ministers and Presidents all over from Europe came to Budapest. So it was a big burden on the Hungarian diplomacy to do it in a reasonable way. But finally, I think it was more than positive, more positive than it was expected, especially because we accepted a Budapest document, which is about the European Union’s strategy to improve competitiveness. Because now we agree that if we will continue as we have done up to now, the decline of the European economy – which is going on at this moment – will be continued. So we have to do something to stop it and turn the tide and rise up again. And the main issue is competitiveness. So on the issue of competitiveness, the European leaders get closer to each other. But there are some issues where we did not. First is the war. Now having the American election, we have a better chance to make steps to achieve peace and to run a more peace-oriented policy than war-oriented, which is mainly today in Europe; it’s a war-oriented policy. And some of the countries would like to do the change quickly, some others are more cautious, so we are not united at this moment on how to continue with support of Ukraine, the Russian–Ukrainian war, how the European role could be, how to finance it, what is the American election outcome has an impact on that. So we were not unified on that, but at least we have started to discuss. And the intention was clear that finally we would like to have a common strategy – what we haven’t had at this moment. And the other point is the Western Balkans. I invited to this European Political Community meeting your President, President Vučić as well – which was important because previously the voice of the Western Balkans was not raised and not heard. And now he provided a very good lecture: a good speech to all of the European leaders, how to think about war and how to think about the Western Balkans. And we are very much convinced that to enlarge the European Union by the Western Balkan countries is the utmost interest of Europe. We are always just speaking about that it’s good or bad for Serbia. It’s your issue, I would not like to involve into that, let’s think about it; but I’m absolutely convinced that for Europe, it is an utmost interest to let the Western Balkans – first of all Serbia – to get in, to get a new dynamic energy and impetus for the European economy. So now we discuss Western Balkans more than we earlier did. There is no agreement at this moment how to accelerate the process, but we are moving together to the direction which is favourable for Serbia to accelerate the process of your joining to the European Union, and to provide a wider and more clear perspective of European Union. And then you can make your choice whether to use it or not.
You mentioned American elections. We are in Baku. You will speak tomorrow about climate changes, but I think you will speak about the new president as well with leaders from the world. So what do you think? Is gonna be some changes around the world approach?
So the tomorrow meeting will be a little bit strange, because of course we will speak about the climate change, we are here for that. But you can be sure that on the corridors, everybody will speak about something else – mainly about what could be the consequences of the outcome of the American, United States election. There are many diverse opinions of course, but one point seems to me quite common: that we all think that now the chance for peace is bigger than any time earlier. Because it’s not just a hypothetical idea, because we have an experience of four years real presidential term of Donald Trump as President of the United States, and on the international arena he was always in favour of peace. So we have a good hope, a well-based good hope that now being inaugurated, hopefully in January, he will soon make good steps towards the peace. So all the peace-loving countries will be happy tomorrow here in Baku, I’m sure.
Okay. And we will see that.
Yes. Thank you very much.
Thank you!
