Speaking in Brussels, Péter Szijjártó, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade, said Hungary will maintain its largest-ever humanitarian scheme supporting the victims of the war in Ukraine and will continue helping persecuted Christians around the world.
Minister Szijjártó told the European Humanitarian Forum that the government’s humanitarian strategy was determined by the proximity of the war in Ukraine and Hungary’s over thousand-year Christian statehood. Hungary was carrying out the largest humanitarian scheme in its history, Minister Szijjártó told the forum, noting that around 1.1 million people had fled Ukraine through Hungary so far. Those that wish to stay in Hungary get help from the authorities to find jobs and access health services and education. As a result, some 1,300 schools and kindergartens have received Ukrainian children so far, the foreign minister said. “Last year we spent more than 100 million euros for this purpose and we will continue our largest ever humanitarian scheme, as long as it is necessary.” He said that Christianity was the most persecuted religion in the world, with many communities suffering persecution and discrimination on a daily basis. The government runs the Hungary Helps scheme, under the arrangement of which 80 million US dollars have been provided so far to help over one million Christians to stay in their home or return there. Hungary will also continue this scheme as long as it is needed, he added.