Péter Szijjártó, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade, has encouraged dual Romanian-Hungarian citizens to cast their ballot in Hungary's general election on April 3.
Speaking in front of a Reformed church built with support from the Hungarian government in Sfantu Gheorghe (Sepsiszentgyörgy), Minister Szijjártó pledged the government’s continued support to Romania Hungarians if the ruling Fidesz-Christian Democrat alliance won the election. The minister noted his government’s efforts to “strengthen and support” ethnic Hungarian communities since 2010, insisting that the upcoming vote would “fundamentally determine the future of both Hungary and ethnic communities across the border”. “Every vote counts and not a single vote should be lost,” he said. With Fidesz staying in power, the government will carry on with its economic promotion programme for Hungarians in Romania, continue to provide assistance to local kindergarten and school construction, aid to religious communities and go on financing cultural and sports programmes, Minister Szijjártó said. In response to a question, Szijjártó said bilateral ties with Romania were “the best they have been in ten years”, adding, at the same time, that the government was working to further improve those relations.
Photo credit: MTI