Serbian President Vučić awarded Hungarian Order of Merit

Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić has been awarded the Hungarian Order of Merit following a proposal by Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, according to the Hungarian Official Gazette published on Thursday evening. More specifically, the Serbian president was awarded the Hungarian Order of Merit's Grand Cross with a necklace and a gold star.

According to the justification, Vučić is being honoured for his work in deepening relations between Hungary and the Republic of Serbia and "in recognition of his dedication to the development of strategic cooperation in the fields of economy, energy and security policy, as well as his unparalleled merits in the historical reconciliation of the Hungarian and Serbian peoples".

The state award is not surprising considering that Vučić, who has been leading Serbia since 2014, first as prime minister and then as president is an old ally of Orbán's, and he was the first one Orbán visited following his inauguration in 2022. Last year, for example, they discussed deepening the cooperation between the two countries in the field of the defence industry, and agreed that in the coming years the way would be opened for taking cooperation in military technology and development to a new level.

In 2022, the Serbian president had awarded Viktor Orbán the highest Serbian state honour.