Official, friendly visit to Serbia - Belgrade

In Belgrade, President of Hungary Katalin Novák was received by President of Serbia Aleksandar Vucity at the Serbia Palace, where they had a one-on-one meeting. Afterwards, the members of the Serbian and Hungarian delegations attended a plenary session, followed by a joint press conference by the two heads of state.

Katalin Novák announced the establishment of the Network of Family Friendly Presidents. According to the Hungarian head of state, "this will be a network of family-focused, family-friendly presidents". Then she asked President Vucsity to be the first to join. Katalin Novák believes that the Serbian head of state has demonstrated, both personally and as president, how important families are to him and that he intends – as it is in his interest - to do everything in his power to support young Serbians in their plans to start a family. 

Both Presidents stressed that Hungarian-Serbian cooperation is closer than ever before.

Aleksandar Vucity pointed out that thanks are due to Katalin Novák for the good relations, as in various governmental roles and now as head of state she has been helping to improve this relationship. The President of Serbia underlined that in addition to excellent diplomatic relations, economic relations are also extremely fruitful. Speaking about infrastructure development, he expressed hope that the Belgrade-Budapest railway line will be completed by 2025 despite the difficulties, enabling passengers to get from one capital to the other in 2 hours and 40 minutes.

The Serbian head of state also pointed out that he has often followed the example of Katalin Novák when adopting family support measures, as Hungarian measures to stop the population decline have so far proved effective.

Katalin Novák thanked the President for the support and care that Serbia has given and continues to give to the Hungarians of Vojvodina to prosper locally. She stated that Hungary is a committed supporter of Serbia's EU membership. "We will continue, as we have done so far, to support at every opportunity the decisions leading to Serbia’s earliest possible EU membership," the Hungarian head of state said. 
Speaking about migration, Katalin Novák stated "We need to raise awareness that migration continues to be a threat, that it is a reality and we must do everything we can to preserve the security of Europe." She added that Serbia is a key partner in this.

Following the press conference, Katalin Novák met with Serbian Prime Minister Ana Brnabic and Speaker of the Serbian National Assembly Vladimir Orlitty.

At the end of her visit to Serbia, Katalin Novák travelled to Szabadka (Subotica), where she met with István Pásztor, President of the Hungarian Association of Vojvodina (VMSZ), with whom she inaugurated the Faculty of Hungarian Primary Teacher Training at the University of Novi Sad in Szabadka (Subotica).