Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó held talks on the refugee crisis, economic cooperation and the opening of a diplomatic representation during bilateral negotiations on the sidelines of the United Nations Summit for Refugees and Migrants in New York.
In addition to making a speech at the plenary session of the conference and participating in the panel discussion, the Hungarian Foreign Minister also held several meetings in New York. He held talks with Australian Foreign Minister Julia Bishop, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Lebanon Gibran Bassil, his Columbian counterpart Maria Ángela Holguin Cuellar and with Josaia Voreqe Bainimarama, who is both Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of Fiji.
Mr. Szijjártó told Hungarian news agency MTI that the main topic of his conversations with the Australian and Lebanese Foreign Ministers was the refugee crisis. “The leaders of Australia and Hungary both regard border protection and national sovereignty as priorities and the standpoint of both Canberra and Budapest on the refugee crisis is that people must be prevented from abusing the opportunities provided by law”, he said, adding “Australia has also reinforced its border security and tightened the relative regulations”. “The Australian government is receiving the same contemptible attacks and criticism as Hungary”, he pointed out.
The refugee crisis was also the main topic of conversation between the Hungarian and Lebanese Foreign Ministers. Mr. Szijjártó and Mr. Bassil agreed that everything possible must be done to assure that refugees can return home as soon as possible and that they must be assisted in enduring these difficult times in countries and regions that lie close to their homes. The two politicians also agreed that in addition to Turkey, Jordan, Lebanon and the autonomous region of Iraqi Kurdistan must be provided with additional assistance in view of the fact that these countries are shouldering major burdens to help ease the refugee crisis. Mr. Szijjártó felt it important to also stress with respect to this that Hungary has contributed three million euros to the Madad Fund. (The Madad Fund was established by the European Union to provide assistance to refugees living in Syria and neighbouring countries.)
Negotiations between Mr. Szijjártó and the Prime and Foreign Minister of Fiji and the Columbian Foreign Minister mainly centred on economic issues. The Hungarian Foreign Minister and Mr. Bainimarama discussed the importance of tighter cooperation between the European Union and the Pacific region, while his talks with Maria Ángela Holguin Cuellar concerned opportunities for diversification within the Columbian economy. “The free trade agreement between the European Union, Columbia and Peru is also providing new opportunities for the Hungarian economy”, declared Mr. Szijjártó, who also told MTI that he had come to an agreement with his Columbian counterpart concerning the fact that Hungary would be reopening its embassy in Bogota next summer.
(MTI)
