Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó headed the Hungarian delegation to the 71st Session of the United Nations General Assembly. In his statements at the Migration Summit and the plenary of the General Assembly, as well as at other events, Mr Szijjártó voiced Hungary's concerns and vision regarding the challanges facing today's Europe.
Addressing the world's nations at the migration summit, Mr. Szijjártó said that the worsening situation in Syria indicates that the agreement between the world’s superpowers is not working and the situation in the war-ravaged region is taking another dramatic turn for the worse. This alltogether clearly casts a shadow on the meeting of the international organisation.
“It once again seems a little hopeless that the situation will be put in order and unfortunately Europe will once again bear the brunt of the fact that the situation in Syria remains unsolved, because sorting out the situation in Syria is the prime requisite for solving the immigration crisis. While there is no peace in Syria we must expect newer and newer masses of people to set out towards Europe”, Mr. Szijjártó highlighted. “The fact that the situation has taken a dramatic turn for the worse with the accidental bombing of Syrian government forces and humanitarian convoys means the chance for a solution is once again very far away”, he stressed.
Hungary, which has accumulated significant experience during the migration crisis, put forward six proposals at the migration Summit, added the Hungarian Foreign Minister, according to whom these proposals are important in the interests of enabling not just Europe, but the whole world to solve this global security risk.
The refugee crisis, diplomatic and economic issues were on the agenda at bilateral talks held by Minister Szijjártó. The Minister took part in several bilateral meetings on the margins of the high-level week, amongst others, with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and President of the General Assembly Peter Thompson. He met with Mr. Amos Hochstein regarding the realisation of Central European energy security. He also met with several of his couterparts from African countries in the interests of expanding economic relations with the continent. During the bilateral meetings the chief diplomat secured votes for Hungary's candidacy to the Human Rights Council.
Outside of the walls of the United Nations, the Minister held a talk at the Permanent Mission of Hungary to the UN at an event co-organized by the Foreign Policy Association and the Foreign Press Association (photo album on the right) and had several appearances in the international press and media, including the Wall Street Journal, BBC, CNN and the New York Times. He also held a press conference in front of the press corps accredited to the UN.
