Djuric, Szijjarto open Hungarian consular office at Serbian consulate in Thessaloniki

THESSALONIKI - Serbian FM Marko Djuric and Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Peter Szijjarto opened a Hungarian consular office at the Serbian consulate general in Thessaloniki, Greece on Monday.

At a ribbon-cutting ceremony, Djuric said that, in a time when relations around the world were becoming increasingly uncertain, trust had become one of the "rarest currencies" in international relations.

"In such circumstances, one thing is more important than ever - partners and friends you can trust and rely on. I often say that the greatest token of friendship is not in words or protocols, but in actions. And a decision to share the same roof might just be one of the most remarkable actions," Djuric said.

Joint diplomatic offices in Thessaloniki send a clear message that reconciliation can evolve into trust, trust into partnership and partnership into true, tangible unity, he said.

"Joint diplomatic and consular offices are not just a rational and efficient solution - they are a strong symbol of mutual reliance," Djuric said.

Szijjarto said a growing number of Hungarians visiting Greece or working in the country had resulted in a need for greater consular support to Hungarian nationals.

Speaking about cooperation with Serbia, Szijjarto said a high-speed rail line between Belgrade and Budapest would be opened to traffic in the coming weeks and that talks about an acquisition of the Russian stake in the Serbian oil company NIS by Hungary's MOL were underway.

He noted that Serbia and Hungary also had shared diplomatic and consular offices in Chile, Angola, Zambia and Malta.

Djuric and Szijjarto also held a bilateral meeting at the Thessaloniki consulate.

Earlier, Djuric laid wreaths at the Serbian WWI military graveyard at Zeitenlik.