Hungary FM: terrorism and illegal migration form vicious circle

Intensifying migratory waves towards Europe pose a great threat to the continent and reflect that terrorism and illegal migration form a “vicious circle”, the Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Peter Szijjarto said in New York on Wednesday.

Szijjártó Péter New Yorkban Fotó: KKM

Despite all efforts, the threat terrorism poses globally is currently more serious than ever before, with various terrorist attacks claiming 6,700 lives last year, the statement by the foreign affairs ministry cited Peter Szijjarto, who will attend a meeting to support the victims of terrorism held in the framework of the UN General Assembly in the afternoon.

One of the reasons, he said, is terrorism and illegal migration forming a "vicious circle".

"The more serious the threat of terrorism is, the greater is the migratory pressure, the more people are involved in migration flows, the greater is the risk that members of terrorist organizations will be able to reach distant parts of the world illegally," he said.

We therefore need to step up our fight against terrorism, as we see that migratory flows to Europe are becoming more serious and, as they become more severe, the threat of terrorism increases significantly,

he warned. 

He noted that the UN Office of Counter-Terrorism (UNOCT) received only 3 percent of its budget from the global organization with the rest to be provided by the member states. Hungary has made a great contribution by Budapest hosting the second largest UNOCT centre, Peter Szijjarto said. Some 25 international experts work at the centre and its role is planned to be further strengthened, he added. 

 "Hungary’s role in the global fight against terrorism will further increase in the upcoming period, which will contribute to enhancing security in Hungary," he said.

Peter Szijjarto said that he would meet eight of his counterparts on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly meeting, including the foreign ministers of Bahrein, Chad, Moldova and the Vatican. The talks will focus on challenges posed by the war, he added. 

"The war is a regional war in the physical sense, and we hope it will remain so, but its effects are global and the whole world now expects it to come to an end," he emphasized.

Europeans always call for the end of fighting, peaceful settlements and negotiations in the case of armed conflicts, but this time the continent has taken a different approach, which is something many countries cannot understand, he added.

"Now that war is in Europe, it seems to these countries, and unfortunately not without reason, that Europeans are fueling tensions and causing the war to be protracted rather than ending it," he said.

"This is why Hungary's pro-peace stance is highly appreciated worldwide," he pointed out.

Commenting on business negotiations held on Wednesday, he said that US companies were the second largest group of investors in Hungary, with 1,700 companies employing 105,000 people. They have very positive feedback on the economic environment and do not allow being misled by various political attacks, he added.

"Instead of getting information from the US or German press, they make decisions based on their everyday experiences and they clearly see that the investment environment in Hungary with the lowest taxes in Europe, highly-skilled workforce and excellent infrastructure represents the best investment opportunity in Europe," he pointed out.

"So I hope that today we will be able to conclude a good number of agreements that will lead to the creation of new jobs in Hungary," he concluded.

 Commenting on a meeting on Sudan, Peter Szijjarto expressed regret over disruptions in food supplies and added that grain exports from Ukraine should be started as soon as possible. 

He recalled that last year, the Hungarian government had donated 3.5 million euros from taxpayers’ money to help the delivery of 10,000 tonnes of Ukrainian grain to Sudan but not even a single gram reached its destination. "Unfortunately, we are still waiting for the approval of the Ukrainian authorities," he added.

"We will also take a clear position at today's meeting. Grain from Ukraine must be transported, with European help of course, to countries where it is needed, where people need everything. So instead of profiteering in Central Europe, the focus must be on supplying countries in Africa that are in need," he stressed.

Finally, Hungary's foreign minister touched on the high-level meeting on pandemic prevention, strongly criticizing that even during the coronavirus pandemic, the world was unable to cooperate in a united manner, without seeing the challenges as ideological and political issues. 

Recalling the attacks against Hungary over the procurement of vaccines from Eastern manufacturers, he stressed that health protection must focus on protecting people, and has nothing to do with geopolitics. "If the world fails to act accordingly, we could be facing very big problems," he said.

Cover photo: Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Peter Szijjarto in New York (Source: Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade)