The governments of Slovenia and Hungary held their first working meeting together on Wednesday in what the two prime ministers labelled as a confirmation of good bilateral relations and a boost for future cooperation between the two nations. Both Janez Jansa and Ferenc Gyurcsany also expressed confidence about the future of the two minorities living along the border.
The decision to hold the joint session in the area along the border, where members of both nations have been living side by side and working hand in hand for centuries, was intentional, Jansa said following the first part of the session in Lendava. Although the cooperation has sometimes been put to test by history, the two ethnic minorities now enjoy the conditions that have never been more favourable, Jansa added. "The politicians have made the commitment to have these favourable conditions used to the best extent possible and for the members of both nations to grow, develop, protect their rights and enhance their national identity with the help of the mother countries and the countries they live in."
Hungarian Prime Minister Gyurcsany meanwhile pledged for his country to increase funds for various ethnic communities, while he promised Slovenians living in Hungary triple air time they have today as well as easier funding of bilingual schools. "We must do more in this department," Gyurcsany said.
Jansa also highlighted advantages of regionalisation as part of which the Hungarian minority in Slovenia would get new possibilities to promote its interests and interaction with the majority population and new financial resources. Turning to business cooperation, Jansa pointed to accelerated growth in bilateral trade, forecasting 30% growth for this year. He believes this will provide a firm basis for greater prosperity in both countries, and hence for both ethnic minorities too.
As a concrete result of today's session the countries are to link their electricity networks with a 400-kilowatt power line and complete the motorway between them by 2010, while a Hungarian company would invest more than EUR 200m into a new central bus and train station in Ljubljana, according to Gyurcsany.
What is more, Foreign Minister Dimitrij Rupel said the government planned to hold joint sessions with the governments of all the neighbouring countries. Several members of the Slovenian and Italian governments, headed by foreign ministers, are to meet soon to prepare a joint meeting, while Slovenia also waits for the Croatian government to return it a visit.
The afternoon part of the meeting focused on how the governments would speed up modernisation, progress and provide a better service to their citizens. Several agreements were signed with this aim in mind, including those on cooperation in health and e-government.
The agreements on the promotion of direct investment and cooperation between small and medium-sized businesses, are expected to give a new impulse to economic cooperation. So is the Slovenian-Hungarian Business Council, which held its maiden session today after the agreement was signed by both economy ministers.
Jansa also praised cooperation in science and research and noted that the Slovenian language was being taught at the University of Budapest for the second year now. His Hungarian counterpart drew attention to the publication of the Hungarian-Slovenian and Slovenian-Hungarian dictionaries, which he said was the product of a joint effort. He also announced closer cooperation among all the countries along the Mura river to set up a flood alert system.
Both foreign ministers signed agreements that would enable Slovenian citizens to get visas at the Hungarian Trade Offices in Taipei, Taiwan, and the Hungarian Embassy in Almaty, Kazakhstan.
Commenting on talks with his opposite number, Kinga Goencz, Rupel voiced a keen interest for Hungary to cooperate with Slovenia during its spell as EU president over the issue of Kosovo, a point in which he said both countries understood each other well.
Relevant ministers also signed agreements on cooperation in military geography, war graves, a deal to upgrade the railway line between the intersection in Pragersko, Slovenia, and Gyoer in Hungary, as well as accords on cooperation in agriculture and cross-border cooperation.
In addition, the Slovenian rail operator signed a contract with Hungarian company TriGranit, which is to build a new central bus and train station in Ljubljana, called Emonika City Center.
The prime ministers laid the foundation stone for a road connecting Felsoszoelnoek and Ketvoelgy, Hungarian villages populated by ethnic Slovenians. According to Prime Minister Jansa, the EUR 1.2m worth investment will make the lives of Slovenians there much easier and allow them to make up for economic regression.
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