Hungary donated two hundred thousand face masks and ten thousand pieces of medical protective clothing to Bosnia-Hercegovina on Thursday to ensure that the Western Balkan country can maintain its protective capacity. The protective equipment was presented by Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó in Sarajevo and Banja Luka.

“Hungary lives in the neighbourhood of the Western Balkans, and accordingly it is in its interests for there to be peace, tranquillity, stability and development there”, the Minister said on location. Mr. Szijjártó pointed out that Bosnia-Hercegovina is playing a particularly key role in preserving the region’s peace and stability. The Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade drew attention to the fact that Bosnia-Hercegovina is facing major challenges with relation to illegal migration. “This is a migration route, and for this reason it is important for the country to continue to do everything possible in the interests of stopping migration processes in future”, he underlined.

During his visit to Bosnia on Thursday, Mr. Szijjártó met with Foreign Minister Bisera Turković, Minister of Security Fahrudin Radončić, and Serbian member of the three-member Bosnian state presidency Milorad Dodik. As he explained, he and his negotiating partners had agreed that “illegal migration is dangerous and must be stopped, and that it currently not only poses a security risk, but also an extremely serious health risk”. “For this reason, in the interests of ensuring that Bosnia-Hercegovina’s protection capacity is not reduced, Hungary has donated an equal quantity of aid, 100 thousand face masks and 5 thousand pieces of medical protective clothing each, to Sarajevo and Banja Luka”, he stated.

Mr. Szijjártó also pointed out that Hungary has been assisting Bosnia’s Euro-Atlantic and European integration efforts from the very beginning. He drew attention to the fact that a Hungarian ambassador will be occupying the position of NATO Liaison Ambassador in Sarajevo until 2022, in addition to which four Hungarians are serving at NATO’s headquarters in Sarajevo, and 168 Hungarian soldiers are serving in the European Union’s Bosnian military mission, in addition to which a Hungarian EU integration expert is also working as part of the Bosnian Foreign Ministry’s team.

(Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade/MTI)