Opening a new Hungarian Embassy building in Zagreb on Thursday, Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said many had humiliated and looked down on the central European peoples who were the driver of the EU's development today, which was why it was important to additionally bolster the unity and cooperation between Hungary and Croatia.

He arrived in Zagreb to open the building, meeting with Croatia’s Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic, President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic and Foreign Minister Marija Pejcinovic Buric.

We know that the EU, European culture, identity and security are faced with big challenges, which is why it’s good to see from Hungary that in our southern neighbourhood lives a proud people that wants to preserve its identity and won’t renounce its Christian values, Szijjarto said outside the embassy.

Many humiliated and looked down on us in central Europe, yet we have become the driver of the EU’s development, and for that jump to happen it was necessary to understand that it’s better to cooperate than disagree, he said, adding that Budapest considers Zagreb an ally, a friend and a good neighbour.

We also won’t forget that in the midst of the biggest attacks in the European Parliament, the Croatian members from the HDZ’s ranks stood by Hungary, which is why I’d like to thank Minister Pejcinovic Buric and the Croatian government, said Szijjarto.

Last September, the EP adopted a report calling on the European Council to find that Hungary was endangering democratic freedoms and fundamental rights, thus gravely breaching the values on which the EU was founded. Five Croatian MEPs – Dubravka Suica, Ivana Maletic, Zeljana Zovko, Marijana Petir and Ruza Tomasic – were among those who voted against the report.

Szijjarto said Hungarians appreciated Croats very much and loved Croatia, as evidenced by the 600,000 Hungarians who summered on the Croatian coast last year, bringing Croatia EUR 400 million in revenue.

He recalled that Croatia was first in Hungary’s foreign investments.

Pejcinovic Buric said trade was constantly rising, from EUR 2.1 billion in 2017 to EUR 2.3 billion in 2018.

The two ministers said Croatia-Hungary cooperation was excellent with regard to ethnic minorities and in science, defence, and in culture, which will be seen next year, during Croatia’s EU presidency, in a joint exhibition on the ties between the two peoples at the Budapest National Museum and Zagreb’s Klovicevi Dvori gallery.