During his meeting with his Hungarian counterpart Laszlo Solyom on Saturday, Croatian President Stjepan Mesic thanked Hungary for its support to Croatia's European Union and NATO membership aspirations. The meeting was held in the Hungarian town of Barcs near the border with Croatia.
President Mesic told media from the two countries that he had also thanked for the support President Solyom and the Hungarian government were offering to ethnic Croats in that country. President Mesic said that Croatia was trying to help ethnic Hungarians in Croatia so that this minority could be a bridge of cooperation between the two neighbouring countries. The two heads of state also discussed energy topics.
President Solyom said that it was in the interest of the region to be as less dependable as possible on the import of energy from Russia. According to him, it is the joint interest of their respective countries to connect energy networks in order to enhance the delivery of electricity and gas. He thanked President Mesic for working on the development of the Hungarian-Croatian relations during his two terms in office. The two heads of state later attended ceremonies organised by local ethnic Croats. The Croatian community in Hungary is estimated at 80,000. During his stay in Barcs, President Mesic will meet Croat representatives, too.