President János Áder has said infrastructure projects can serve as a bridge to build closer ties between Hungary and Lithuania.
Following talks with his Lithuanian counterpart, Dalia Grybauskaite, in Vilnius on Tuesday, the president revealed that their partnership would revolve around the transnational Via Carpathia highway network, the Hungarian section of which is expected to be completed by 2022.
President Áder added that other projects include connecting the energy networks of the countries west of Russia to reduce their dependence on Russian gas. North-south bi-directional gas deliveries are highly important, he stressed.
The president said the two countries agreed that Europe should defend its borders and guarantee security for its citizens.
Dalia Grybauskaite noted potential in further boosting bilateral trade volume. The Lithuanian president said the “two countries are involved together in the whirl of several processes”, including transatlantic security cooperation.
The Lithuanian president thanked Hungary for patrolling the airspace over the three Baltic states in a joint mission with Germany in 2015 and invited Hungary to join a similar mission in the future. She added that Hungary had sent troops to Lithuania during the occupation of the Crimean Peninsula.