Péter Szijjártó, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade, said the construction of a crude pipeline running between Hungary and Serbia will start soon.

Speaking in Belgrade on Friday, Minister Szijjártó said the pipeline, including a 180km-190km stretch in Hungary, would be completed by 2027, ensuring fuel supply for Serbia and the region. He added that Hungary and Serbia would double interconnector capacity between their electricity grids by 2028.

Minister Szijjártó noted that a number of countries in Central Europe were getting their gas delivered via Serbia after Ukraine stopped forwarding Russian gas to Europe. Hungary is getting around 7.5 billion cubic metres of gas a year via Serbia, he added.

The foreign minister added that the upgrade of the Budapest-Belgrade rail line will be completed by the end of 2025.

Minister Szijjártó said the sides were working to reach an agreement on conducting customs and border checks while trains were en route, cutting travel time.

He added that the project was an "extraordinarily important and successful" cooperation.