On Thursday Sudanese authorities let Mariam Yehya Ibrahim, who was earlier persecuted for her Christian faith, and her children leave the country, arriving safely in Italy. After their arrival they were received in the Vatican by Pope Francis I.
Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade spokesperson Anna Nagy has said that Hungary’s role in completing the package of proposals on UN sustainable development objectives for 2030 has proved a great success. Csaba Kőrösi, Hungary’s ambassador to the UN, spoke of the joint achievement of UN member states in preparing the development goals, with the negotiations being led by Hungary and Kenya.
Representatives from the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) held talks with the foreign ministers of EU Member States in Brussels on Wednesday afternoon. Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Tibor Navracsics represented Hungary at the meeting, which was the latest in a series of discussions which take place every two years. The Minister said that, as Malaysia is a member of ASEAN, the downing in Eastern Ukraine of Malaysian Airlines Flight 17 was discussed; further details of that part of the talks were not revealed, however.
The state of Hungary has reached an accord on purchasing MKB from Bayerisiche Landesbank. The current owner has agreed to sell 99 percent of MKB shares to the state of Hungary and increase capital by EUR 270 million prior to the transfer.
The Government’s objective is to ensure that as many endangered children as possible are placed with foster families, Minister of State for Social Affairs and Inclusion Károly Czibere, from the Ministry of Human Resources, told Hungarian news agency MTI on Tuesday in Szeged.
Church-maintained schools were a secondary issue during previous, Socialist governments, Minister of State for Social and Family Affairs Miklós Soltész pointed out at a press conference held in Carei (Nagykároly, Transylvania) on Tuesday. The politician added that during the past four years the Orbán government has also implemented serious changes within this field. While in 2010 there were roughly six hundred church-maintained educational institutions in Hungary, their number reached one thousand by 2014.
On Tuesday Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Tibor Navracsics said that an extraordinary summit of the European Union could be held at some time next week to reach agreement on whether to introduce a third round of sanctions against Russia in connection with the Ukraine crisis.
Three thousand children living in disadvantaged sub-regions will participate in Erzsébet Day Camps this year, Government Spokesperson Éva Kurucz announced on Tuesday.
Hungary’s retail sales volume has been on the rise for the 11th consecutive month and the increase of almost 5 percent registered in May is the third best growth figure within the European Union. The rebound in household consumption has been the result, among others, of the cuts in utility charges, family tax allowances, record-high employment growth, the increase of wages in real terms and improving consumer confidence.
The Government concluded a strategic partnership agreement with German gearshift manufacturer ZF Hungária Kft.; the document was signed in Budapest in the Parliament on Tuesday.