Hungary's foreign minister has said that the international community has a duty to help persecuted Christians who have been forced to flee their homes in the Middle East.
Speaking at the Madrid conference on victims of ethnic and religious violence in the Middle East, Minister of Foreign Affairs and TradePéter Szijjártó said that the Middle East’s Christians were in “terrible danger” from the Islamic State terrorist organization.
The minister stressed the importance of increased security in the region before the reconstruction of conflict-stricken areas. He insisted that all countries, whether Christian or not, should participate in such efforts.
Minister Szijjártó noted Hungary’s military participation in the fight against the Islamic State terrorist organization, underlining that the government plans to add another 50 troops to the current Hungarian mission of 150 by 2019.
The Hungarian government has so far allocated 1.9 million EUR to rebuild 200 Christian homes in Iraq, 470,000 EUR to buy medical supplies for a hospital, 400,000 EUR to build a Christian school, and 500,000 EUR to provide humanitarian aid. The minister added that Hungary would also support the Syrian Catholic and Orthodox churches with 1 million EUR each.