November 21^st

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban and members of his cabinet on November 20^th arrived in Nis, where they were received by Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic and cabinet members ahead a joint session of governments on November 21^st. Orban and the Hungarian ministers were welcomed at the Constantine the Great Airport with the highest honors with the playing of anthems and the presence of an honor guard. Multiple bilateral ministerial meetings are also slated for November 21^st in Nis, and the two prime ministers will be attending a Serbian-Hungarian business forum as well.
The interior ministers of Serbia and Hungary, Nebojsa Stefanovic and Sandor Pinter, talked over the migrant crisis in Nis late on November 20^thagreeing that there was good cooperation between police in curbing human-trafficking. Serbian Minister of Construction, Transport and Infrastructure Zorana Mihajlovic announced that the joint session of governments would focus on projects significant to the entire region and that a deal would be signed to declare the Tisa an international navigable river. Vucic said at a joint press conference with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, after the meeting of the two governments, that Serbia and Hungary had sincere friendly political relations, and added that the aim was to further improve economic relations. Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic said that the purpose of the joint session of the governments of Serbia and Hungary in Nis was improvement of relations between businessmen of the two countries, increasing trade and attracting investors. Vucic said that he and Orban talked about attracting investors from this country, not only in Vojvodina, but also in other parts of Serbia, adding that the opening of a branch of OTP Bank in Nis is therefore extremely important.

November 21^st

Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic and Prime Minister of Hungary Viktor Orban visited today the new 9.4km Prosek- Bancarevo road section on the eastern branch of Corridor 10.Vucic presented Orban the works on the whole Corridor 10, and particularly the eastern branch leading from Nis to the Bulgarian border. Orban congratulated the Serbian Prime Minister on everything that has been done and what he saw and especially commended the quality and speed of works. Also, the Prime Minister of Hungary was interested in the details of the implementation of the construction of Corridor 10 through Serbia. Vucic said that the completion of Corridor 10 through Serbia will significantly shorten the travel from Budapest through Belgrade towards Bulgaria, Macedonia or Greece. Also, we will have much safer roads, and vehicle traffc will be significantly increased, said Vucic. According to Vucic, the eastern branch of Corridor 10 is one of the most difficult sections because of mountainous landscapes. Vucic presented Orban the current works on Corridor 11, important for linking Serbia with Montenegro, as well as the planned construction of the motorway Nis-Pristina, adding that Nis is becoming a regional center and a major crossroads.

November 21^st

Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic said today at the Serbian-Hungarian business forum in Nis that good political relations between the two countries open the possibility for full cooperation in all fields of economy and announced direct connecting of entrepreneurs and companies. Speaking at the business forum held after the joint session of the two governments, Vucic told the Hungarian investors that the Serbian government will provide the best possible conditions for business. He told investors from Hungary that Serbia offers well-trained labour force, as well as very good incentives for any business they might want to start. According to the Prime Minister, our country also offers subsidies per job, the joint construction of infrastructural facilities, production facilities, access roads and more. Serbia can offer better conditions than any other country in the region, the Prime Minister underlined and added that it is also necessary to encourage Serbian investors try to invest in Hungary. Vucic pointed out that today a contract with a major Japanese company was signed which will employ 1,700 people in Sabac, while German factory Kromberg &Schubert, which specializes in production of car parts, has opened its production plant in Krusevac. The Serbia-Hungary Business Forum, which has gathered 250 businessmen and 170 companies, has been organized by the Serbian Chamber of Commerce and the Hungarian National Trading House.  According to data of the Serbian Statistical Office, the total foreign trade between Serbia and Hungary stood at €1.1 billion last year, which is approximately €50 million more in comparison to 2014, i.e. by 4.9% more.  In the first eight months of 2016, the trade between the two countries increased by 5% in relation to the same period last year, which was encouraged by the opening of Hungarian trade representative offices. Total export of goods to Hungary in 2015 stood at € 320.9 million and it accounted for 2.7% of the total export of Serbia.

November 21^st

Hungary’s OTP Bank has opened a new regional headquarters in Nis. The inauguration ceremony was held in the presence of Hungarian PM Viktor Orbán and Serbian PM Aleksandar Vučić, who both expressed their hope that the Nis investment would be profitable for both parties. According to preliminary reports, the total cost of the new regional headquarters was half a million euros. In his speech, President and CEO of OTP Sándor Csányi emphasized that OTP Bank appeared on the Serbian market ten years ago when it purchased Niska Banka and is planning on acquiring other bank branches with which it can rise to become one of the largest banks in Serbia .OTP is present in nine countries, has over 1300 branches and provides services to 12 million clients. Mr. Csányi highlighted the fact that good Hungarian-Serbian economic relations facilitate the economic development of both countries and continued good cooperation is expected in view of the fact that the signs of Serbian economic development and growth are already visible. Prime Minister Orbán said with relation to this that amongst others the members of the Hungarian Government had arrived in Southern Serbia to convince Hungarian enterprises that it was also worth searching for investment opportunities south of Belgrade. “The opening of the new OTP headquarters in Nis is proof that Serbia welcomes Hungarian investors, and Hungary supports these kinds of investments”, the Prime Minister added. “The opening of the branch is a symbolic moment that is testament to our economic policy of encouraging close cooperation”, Mr. Orbán continued. Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic expressed his hope that the Nis investment would be profitable for both parties.