Péter Szijjártó, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade, said the United Nations counterterrorism center’s regional office in Budapest will assume further responsibilities.
After meeting Vladimir Voronkov, Under-Secretary-General for the Counter-Terrorism Office, in New York, Minister Szijjártó said on Facebook that the Budapest office would be assigned “more and more functions” including a program implemented in cooperation with the Balkans to thwart terrorism financing, setting up a counterterrorism academy and offering training in air traffic security. More and more UN counterterrorism activities will be coordinated from Budapest.
Minister Szijjártó said he was scheduled to meet UN Secretary General António Guterres, adding that he did not see eye to eye with the UN’s chief regarding several matters, but “there are issues over which cooperation is close”. With a view to recent financial, migration, and health crises Minister Szijjártó called for a “much more effective” political cooperation, adding that “when it comes to human lives, the disputes should not be determined by political ideologies”. He added that “the role of the UN should be enhanced”, and he offered Hungary’s support.
Photo credit: Facebook/Szijjártó Péter