A ceremonial session was held in the town of Szentgotthard in Hungary, while the ministers opened a Hungarian consular office in the town of Lendava in Slovenia in the afternoon. The office operates as part of Hungary's embassy based in Ljubljana.

Erjavec praised the Hungarian government for adopting several laws that "allow better protection for the Slovenian minority in terms of systemic funding, rights related to education and some other political rights".

What is more, "we can expect that a Slovenian representative will participate in parliament after this year's parliamentary election" in Hungary, said Erjavec.

Martonyi underlined that the intergovernmental agreement was an exemplary document in minority protection because it takes into account the communities' individual and minority rights.

Jože Hirnök, the president of the Union of Slovenians in Hungary, who was present at the signing of the agreement in 1992, expressed hope that the situation of Slovenian minority in Hungary would become more similar to that of the Hungarian community in Slovenia.

He pointed out that the countries said back then that the agreement was signed in the spirit of reciprocity, adding that this was very important for the Slovenian community in Hungary.

Similar to Hirnök, Martin Ropoš, the head of the National Slovenian Self-Government Unit in Hungary, also pointed to a big difference between the amounts the countries earmark for the communities each year.

The head of the Hungarian ethnic community in Pomurje, Ferenc Horvath, added that the agreement was very important for both communities.