Hungary and Montenegro are planning to sign a government-to-government infrastructure deal, the Sofia, Bulgaria-based news site SeeNews reports, citing statements made by the Ministry of Economic Development of Montenegro. The agreement would include the construction of a data centre in the Balkan country.
The announcement was made after Minister of Economic Development Nik Gjeloshaj of Montenegro met with Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó on Tuesday, 17 June in Budapest, Hungary.
The two ministers held talks on enhancing economic ties between their countries, exploring joint investment prospects, and discussing Montenegro’s progress toward joining the European Union, according to the statement.
Szijjártó highlighted that bilateral trade has hit an all-time high, citing Hungarian banking group OTP’s ownership of Crnogorska Komercijalna Banka (CKB)—Montenegro’s largest bank—and the influence of Hungary’s 4iG, which operates One Crna Gora, one of the country’s three mobile network providers. He also welcomed Montenegro’s commitment to closing six additional EU accession chapters by the end of 2025.
To date, Montenegro has temporarily closed six out of 33 chapters in the accession process. The country began negotiations with the EU in June 2012 and aims to become a member by 2028.
Recently, both FM Szijjártó and Minister for National Economy Márton Nagy of Hungary have supported Montenegro’s EU accession. The country is an EU candidate member state, having started the accession negotiations in 2012.
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