Hungary’s House Speaker László Kövér has held talks with his Ethiopian counterpart Tagesse Chaffo in Addis Ababa. The speaker was also received by Ethiopian President Sahle-Work Zewde and Abune Mathias, head of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church.
According to MTI, the speaker voiced his appreciation for Ethiopia’s support for nearly one million refugees in the country and praised the nation for its cooperation with Hungary.
During talks with Chaffo, Kövér noted that Ethiopia was the second recipient of refugees in Africa, and added that Hungary seeks to support Ethiopian efforts through its Hungary Helps program.
Talks with the Orthodox patriarch focused on providing help to persecuted Christians. Kövér said that Hungary’s financial aid would be focused on four refugee camps in Tigre state, accommodating some 60,000 Christians from Eritrea and South Sudan.
A delegation of government and church representatives will set off for the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Kenya to “assess opportunities for assistance and deliver the government’s aid”, said Tristan Azbej, state secretary in charge of aid for persecuted Christian and the Hungary Helps program.
In the Congo, the delegation will meet local church leaders and visit a school and orphanage in Kinshasa, built with Hungarian contribution in 2014. In Kenya, the delegation will assess ways to help Christians threatened by the al-Shabaab terrorist organization.