State Secretary Tristan Azbej, who has just returned from the African state, stressed that it is in Hungary’s fundamental security interest that Chad — the last stable country in the Sahel region — maintains its stability and launches developments that create livable conditions for local communities. “If Chad were to lose its stability, God forbid, it would mean tens of millions of people setting off towards Europe and Hungary. This is why it is in our vital security interest to prevent this. We must not bring the trouble to Europe; we must bring help to where the trouble is,” he said.
He noted that the mission aims to support people living in Chad — as well as those who have fled there — in creating a future in their homeland rather than embarking for Europe. Azbej visited project sites where “Hungarian knowledge transfer” is taking place, including an agricultural and livestock research and development centre described as a “Hungarian excellence centre in Chad,” where experts from the University of Gödöllő work with Chadian specialists on climate-resilient, drought-tolerant fodder development and livestock processing technologies.
He also highlighted that mission doctors from Hungary’s St. Francis Hospital organised a pacemaker-implantation training course in the Chadian capital and shared expertise on resuscitation and triage systems.
State Secretary Azbej called it a “moving experience” to inaugurate Chad’s first early childhood development room, where Hungarian specialists are providing training. “There was such interest among Chadian professionals that many could not even fit in the room,” he said.
He announced plans to help launch an educational cooperation in the Lake Chad region, an area where, as he said, children often face the grim alternative of recruitment by extremist groups.
The state secretary described the philosophy of Hungary Helps as a combination of “a compassionate heart and common sense,” stating that the mission is both a humanitarian duty and an opportunity to expand Hungarian expertise. Doctors participating in the missions have encountered medical cases rarely seen in Hungary, while agricultural experts reported that some of the climate-resilient technologies developed in Chad could also help mitigate drought damage in Hungary.
He said similar humanitarian medical missions are planned for next year as well, noting that more than fifty Hungarian doctors have taken part in such missions in recent years on a strictly voluntary basis.
Tristan Azbej also addressed reports in the Hungarian press, rejecting as false claims that Hungary had provided tens of billions of forints in tied-aid loans to Chad. He stressed that Hungarian doctors’ participation in the missions is entirely voluntary and poses no risk to the security of domestic healthcare services.
He clarified that no loan has been disbursed: “Not a single forint has been placed out as a loan.” He added that only a preliminary agreement exists between Hungary and Chad regarding potential economic development projects financed by Hungarian credit, and only if three conditions are met: that the projects serve a real economic need, that the financing is safe and repayable, and that Hungarian companies carry out most of the work.
He underlined that implementation has not yet begun and planning is still underway, but he hopes such a programme can be launched.