Hungary can buy and store 500 million m3 of gas for Serbia’s needs

Published on 8. February 2023., News

In case of need, Hungary can, as it has already done in 2022, buy and store gas for Serbia’s needs in the amount of 500 million cubic meters, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade of Hungary Peter Szijarto said today in Belgrade.

He stated that they are working together to double the amount of electricity transmission between the two countries by 2028, and stated that cooperation is also possible regarding the nuclear capacities of PAKS 2 and 3 in Hungary, which are expected to be operational after 2030 , the website of the Government of Serbia reported.

Sijarto and the Minister of Mining and Energy of Serbia, Dubravka Đedović, confirmed, during today’s meeting in Belgrade, the commitment of the two countries to the further development of cooperation in several spheres of energy.

Đedović and Sijarto at the joint press conference, after the conversation, emphasized the importance of building a gas interconnection between Serbia and Bulgaria, which will also be one of the options for gas supply from Azerbaijan for Hungary.

Đedović pointed out that Serbia will work on strengthening its energy infrastructure, stressing the importance of plans for the construction of the Pannonian corridor for the transmission of electricity, as well as the diversification of oil supply through the construction of an oil pipeline to Hungary, for which preparations have begun.

Answering questions from journalists, she said that the situation in Turkey after the earthquake is being closely monitored due to the situation with the gas pipeline, and added that there are currently significant gas reserves in storage facilities in Serbia and Hungary.

Further growth of trade exchange with Hungary

The Minister of Internal and Foreign Trade of Serbia, Tomislav Momirović, also met with Sijarto, who stated that the economic relations between the two countries are characterized by the continuous growth of trade exchange.

Momirović also pointed to the significant growth of Hungarian investments in the Serbian economy and joint infrastructure projects of regional importance, adding that significant cooperation between small and medium-sized enterprises has been established in recent years.

He stated that Hungary was the fifth trading partner of Serbia last year, and the fourth in exports, which amounted to EUR 1.5 billion, according to the volume of total trade of EUR 3.65 billion.

The minister presented that in the last ten years, the value of trade between Hungary and Serbia has increased significantly, especially our exports, which is primarily driven by the growth of the export of components of the automotive industry.

Momirović announced that, together with Sijart, he will be co-chairman of the Joint Committee for Economic Cooperation between Serbia and Hungary, adding that special efforts will be made to further increase the exchange of goods between the two countries to four billion euros in the future.

He reminded that Serbia and Hungary have exceptional political cooperation, and that during today’s meeting they discussed the next steps for establishing even better trade relations, as well as the additional connection of our two nations.

– The prerequisite for that is certainly to continue with the construction of joint infrastructure projects, but also to additionally relax border procedures and ensure the free flow of people and goods at our border crossings – concluded Momirović.

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