Presidents Laszlo Solyom of Hungary and Stjepan Mesic of Croatia held talks on mutual support for national minorities, energy and nature conservation issues in Barcs on Saturday.
The two presidents met in the south Hungarian border town to attend the Day of Croatians in Hungary.
Meeting reporters after the talks, Solyom called it a fundamental interest of both countries and the entire region to reduce their dependence on energy imports.
Connecting gas pipelines and electricity grids would be vital for safe energy supply, he said.
The two presidents discussed Croatia’s recent accession to NATO and forthcoming entry into the European Union. Solyom congratulated Croatia on having settled its border dispute with Slovenia and ratified the related agreement.
Mesic thanked Hungary and its president for having backed Croatia on its road to NATO and the European Union.
Solyom expressed thanks to Mesic, soon to leave his post after ten years, for supporting the actions of Green presidents, of which he had been a co-initiator.
Solyom noted that two years ago, the two of them met with Serbian President Boris Tadic at the confluence of the Danube and Drava rivers and agreed to establish a biosphere reserve there.
