“All Hungarians are responsible for every Hungarian, and accordingly the government is also aiding Hungarian communities on the other side of the border, including with protective equipment”, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó said in a statement to Hungarian news agency MTI on Friday.

Mr. Szijjártó told the press that the government is also providing aid to cross-border Hungarian communities in the form of equipment, and is providing them with some 600 thousand face masks, and tens of thousands pieces of protective clothing, other protective equipment and test kits in Upper Hungary, Transylvania, Szeklerland, Carpathian Ruthenia, Slavonia, the Mura region and Vojvodina.

“Hungary is able to do so because the airlift between China and Hungary is working, and the government has already purchased over 30 million face masks from China”, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade emphasised. “In addition, we have acquired a complete production line that will soon begin operation and is capable of manufacturing 2 million 800 thousand masks every month. Producing our own masks also creates an opportunity for the government to help people in need in the vicinity of Hungary”, he stated.

“Practically every cross-border Hungarian community has contacted the government stating that supply in the areas where they live is bad, and certain hospitals have reached the limits of their operating capabilities as a result of the challenges posed by the coronavirus epidemic”, Mr. Szijjártó said.

“It is our duty to protect the health and lives of the Hungarian people, and this requires healthcare protection to be successful”, the Hungarian Foreign Minister said, adding: “Major shipments of equipment will continue to arrive in Hungary from China over the coming weeks, thereby facilitating the success of healthcare protection efforts”.

(Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade/MTI)