Hungarian Conservative

According to State Secretary for Assisting Persecuted Christians and Implementing the Hungary Helps Program Tristan Azbej the purpose of the meeting was for the Hungarian government to share its knowledge and experience regarding Hungary’s policy of aiding persecuted Christians.

Christian persecution takes many forms; it is defined as any hostility experienced as a result of identification with Jesus Christ.

Tristan Azbej explained that through these amendments, Hungary will not only provide humanitarian aid but also contribute to economic development and peace-building efforts.

The Roman Catholic Church’s charity organization, Caritas Hungary has provided some four million forints in aid to the families affected by a tragic boarding school accident in Székelyudvarhely (Odorheiu Secuisesc) in Transylvania. Caritas has also launched a donation drive to further help the victims of the accident.

As an article by Premier Christian highlighted, for Armenians, leaving Nagorno-Karabakh is not just a geographical relocation, but also the act of severing ties with their deeply engrained cultural and religious heritage.

The assistance provided by the Hungary Helps Programme will be directed towards Armenian nationals who have had to flee the Karabakh due to the escalation of the conflict that has been ongoing for three decades. The Interchurch Aid and the Hungarian Lutheran Church have also initiated a solidarity fundraising campaign.

‘Many people have died, almost every family is mourning someone, and providing for the family is a daily struggle…we are talking about people who fled the horrors of war, their hometown, and even often their country, and yet we saw that even a gesture of help is sufficient to encourage them to accept the uncertainty and difficulties and return to their homeland. No sane person does this unless they believe in something, and these people believe in providence,’ State Secretary in Charge of Aid to Persecuted Christian Communities Tristan Azbej said in a recent interview.

The Hungary Helps Programme, however, does not only help persecuted Christians, but provides effective support in crisis areas and areas that are hit by man-made or natural disasters as well. Since the outbreak of the Ukraine war, Hungary has provided 130 billion forints (335.6 million euros) in aid to the victims of the war in Ukraine. Hungary also sent ten tons of relief supplies to Turkey immediately after the deadly earthquakes on 6 February and 50 million forints (132,000 euros) to Syria.

‘There is no justification for the State Department’s failure to recognize Nigeria or India as egregious violators of religious freedom, as they each clearly meet the legal standards for designation as CPCs.’

The project is part of the so-called Great Green Wall program, which is helping more than 250 million people in desert areas in Africa.

Now, another commitment of the Hungarian government’s refugee policy to ‘help on the spot’ has come to fruition.

Speaking in Szolnok, State Secretary for Education Zoltán Maruzsa noted that notebooks are distributed at more than 3,000 distribution points not only in state institutions but also in church, minority, municipal, and foundation schools. In Jász-Nagykun-Szolnok County alone 4,499 laptops of the total 193,000 will be handed out at sixty-two distribution points.

About 5 per cent of the Hungarian GDP is generated by the auto industry, therefore, initially, the EU’s decision to ban the sale of all new combustion-engine cars in 2035 was met with resistance in Hungary. Due to the ban, it is expected that from 2035 on practically only electric vehicles will be allowed to be sold in the European single market, which could have left the Hungarian economy that was dependent on the old technology vulnerable. Fortunately, however, Hungary showed a remarkable ability to adapt to the changing circumstances. In the past two years since the ban was proposed electric battery manufacturers have been engaged, which helps facilitate the green transition of the Hungarian car industry.

Since 2017, the increase in the number of people employed in the high-tech sector has been larger than the increase in the number of people employed, and their share has also grown. This is the period when we were propelled into the EU lead. While in 2017 we were 0.9 percentage points above the EU average, by 2021 our lead had increased to 1.6 percentage points. During this time, the number of people working in the sector increased by a third to 300,000.

215 young scholars studying in Hungary as part of a bilateral agreement between Ghana and Hungary have gone without their stipends for six months now after the Ghanaian government has apparently failed to disburse the sums due to the 215 students.

According to the Hungarian Ministry of Energy, Hungarian gas consumption, similarly to the previous cycle, decreased by a fifth in the last period observed, outperforming the compulsory target prescribed for EU member states.

The Brazilian relationship is a valuable connection to an emerging power of the 21st century, without serious geopolitical cost attached.

In recent years, Hungary has experienced a craft beer renaissance, with the emergence of microbreweries and artisanal brews. A new coupon booklet named The Bucket List includes ten Budapest venues where booklet owners can purchase high-quality craft beers for a lower price.

At the conclusion of his visit to Washington, D.C., Tristan Azbej, the state secretary responsible for the assistance programmes to aid persecuted Christians, noted that the Hungarian government shares practically identical values with the American right, conservative individuals, and organizations. He identified the importance of renewing the fight against anti-Semitism, something Hungarian and American conservatives also agree about, in response to the resurgence of violent anti-Semitism in the Western world, including the United States, following the events in Gaza.

According to Tristan Azbej, the state secretary in charge of programmes aiding persecuted Christians, the fact that the Hungarian Embassy was the host of the opening of the major international conference is not only an opportunity but also recognition of the work carried out by the Hungarian government and Hungary in this field.

Following the meeting with Austrian Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg, Szijjártó disclosed that consultations have begun to ensure the success of Hungary’s rotating EU presidency in the latter half of 2024.

Defence Minister Kristóf Szalay-Bobrovniczky announced in a video on his Facebook page that the Hungarian government is partnering with the German automotive and arms manufacturer Rheinmetall in a deal to develop ‘state-of-the-art, latest-generation’ tanks for the defence industry.

After Hamas brutally attacked Israel on 7 October, the refugee camp on the shore of Lake Balaton in Hungary was converted into a safe haven for Israeli Jews who wanted to escape with their families from the horrors of war. The camp now houses around 250 people, including 100 children, most of whom have fled from Israel since the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war.

Speaking at the MEDays Forum international conference, the Hungarian foreign minister stressed that as a result of mistaken immigration policies, parallel societies have emerged in Western Europe. He remarked that what Europeans are seeing is ‘loud minorities exerting pressure on those who have lived there for centuries…and the threat of terrorism intensifying’.

Alongside the distribution of laptops that started last year, more than 4,000 locations have been equipped with wireless internet access, and with a budget of 10 billion forints, the electrical networks of the relevant institutions have been renovated.

‘We are very lucky to have a building, a home, which belongs to every Hungarian person and organization. I started to encourage the small communities to participate in our events or use the building for theirs. We aim to become a community centre, a hub for all Hungarians and friends of Hungary.’

At the handover ceremony, Minister of Defence Kristóf Szalay-Bobrovniczky highlighted that the greatest strength of the system, also used in 12 other countries, is its ability to establish a network based on control stations. It operates with excellent US-made AMRAAM missiles widely used in NATO member states and also installed on HDF Gripen fighter aircraft.

Speaking in the National Assemblyabout the possibility of a military mission being launched, Hungarian Minister of Defence Kristóf Szalay-Bobrovniczky explained that such a mission would only take place at the invitation of the Chadian president, and within this framework, a maximum of 200 soldiers would serve from the spring of 2024.

Hungary is actively working to prevent a humanitarian crisis in Chad, recognizing the potential repercussions for all of Europe. State Secretary responsible for aiding persecuted Christians Tristan Azbej highlighted the Central African country’s crucial role as a stable state in a volatile region which faces a growing influx of refugees.

Minister of Foreign Affairs Péter Szijjártó highlighted the natural mutual understanding between Qatar and Hungary as countries with patriotic governments focused on asserting national interests.