Hungary, Slovakia lay cornerstone of new bridge on River Ipoly

Addressing the ceremony, Szijjarto said the 2.6 billion forint (EUR 7.0m) bridge will be open to both passenger and freight traffic.

Szijjarto noted that the 50m bridge will spare travellers a 20km detour.

Meanwhile, Szijjarto said the government interpreted the outcome of the April 3 general election, in which the incumbent parties won a fourth successive supermajority, as a reinforcement of Hungary’s foreign policy, which he said was based on building mutually beneficial relations with neighbouring countries.

“We have put in a lot of effort over the last twelve years into building shared success stories with our neighbours,” Szijjarto said. “The more links we have between us, the better we know each other, and the greater interest we have in each other’s success, the less reason we will have for disagreements or disputes.”

Whereas in 2010 Hungary and Slovakia had just 23 public road links between their borders, they now have 35, and six more will be established by the end of next year, Szijjarto said. The two countries will build three bridges over the Ipoly and one over the Danube, as well as a ferry and a road crossing, he noted. Furthermore, Hungary and Slovakia have linked their electricity grids and gas pipelines, he said, adding that this was especially important given Europe’s current energy supply crisis.

As regards trade ties, Szijjarto said bilateral trade turnover reached a record 13 billion euros last year, a 27 percent increase from 2020. Trade turnover was up 56 percent in January this year, he added. The minister said Slovakia had become Hungary’s second most important trading partner and the fourth most important investment destination for Hungarian businesses.

Szijjarto said Hungary and Slovakia were aiming to boost their relations on the basis of mutual respect. He said Matovic was a “friend of Hungarians” who “fully understands the physical and symbolic meaning of the construction of bridges between the two countries”.

Matovic welcomed the new link between the two countries, underscoring the value of peaceful relations today. “I firmly believe that a shared peaceful future awaits us,” he said.