Hungary officially established diplomatic relations with the Republic of the Marshall Islands of the Pacific Ocean on Saturday. The agreement on the official establishment of diplomatic relations was signed by Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó and Marshall Islands Foreign Minister John Silk at a ceremony at Hungary’s Permanent Mission to the United Nations in New York.

Following the ceremony, Mr. Szijjártó spoke about the fact that the Marshall Islands regards environmental protection and climate protection as extremely important, and Hungary is also taking the challenges posed by environmental protection seriously, and wishes to take part in providing a response to them through action.

He pointed out that Hungary was the first European Union member state to sign the Paris Agreement on the fight against global climate change.

The Minister explained that the two countries have already been cooperating within the activities of the United Nations, and have now agreed on the continuation and expansion of this cooperation. Hungary will be supporting the Marshall Islands’ bid for membership of the UN Human Rights Council, while the Marshall Islands will be supporting Hungary’s membership of UNESCO’s Executive Board, the Hungarian Foreign Minister announced.

Mr. Szijjártó also pointed out that there is an agreement on visa-free travel in force between the European Union and the Micronesian islands, In its current budget, the EU is also providing 9 million euros in funding to the Marshall Islands, and Hungary will be supporting the initiative aimed at increasing the level of funding provided in the post-2020 budget, the Minister stated.

John Silk highlighted that he greatly appreciates Hungary’s support to enable the Marshall Islands to become a member of the Geneva-based UN Human Rights Council at the upcoming vote in mid-October.

He explained that in the case of the Marshall Islands, climate protection is also a human rights issue in view of the fact that 99 percent of the country’s territory is ocean, in addition to which the land is only just over a metre above sea level, and accordingly any significant increase in sea level could eradicate the whole of the Marshall Islands from the face of the earth. “In view of this, we particularly appreciate the efforts being made by the European Union and its member states to prevent climate change”, the Marshall Islands Foreign Minister stated.

The Marshall Islands is a republic in the islands of Micronesia, halfway between Hawaii and Australia, and is made up of two groups of islands that consist of coral atolls, the Ratak and Ralik groups of islands, and several small coral pads. Its total area is 181.4 square meters and is has a population of less than 70 thousand

(MTI)