“The construction of the southern gas corridor is also clearly progressing according to plan”, Szijjártó said. “If we manage to keep to schedule, 6 billion cubic meters of gas will arrive at Hungary’s southern borders by the end of 2019″, Szijjártó said.

These developments, together with the upgrade of the Paks nuclear plant by Russian state-owned company Rosatom, are “significant steps forward” in ensuring the country’s energy security, Szijjártó said.

Speaking at a roundtable discussion at the Russian Energy Week, Szijjártó said that the upgrade of the nuclear plant with two new reactor blocks went beyond building the facility itself and amounted to a comprehensive economic development plan.

The project is “the best investment” for Hungary, he said, “with an optimum financing structure in cooperation with the best player in the nuclear energy sector”. During his two-day visit to the Russian capital, Szijjártó held talks with Gazprom head Alexey Miller, energy minister Alexander Novak and Alexey Likhachev, head of Rosatom.

Republished with permission of Hungary Matters, MTI’s daily newsletter.

MTI Fotó: Foreign Ministry