Foreign minister presents Friends of Hungary members with state awards

Budapest, May 6 (MTI) – Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó presented two founding members of the Friends of Hungary Foundation (Moba) with the Order of Merit of Hungary, Medium Cross, civilian division, in Budapest on Friday.

Moba is holding its third world conference in Budapest this weekend.

István Radda received the award for his efforts to advance Hungarian-Austrian ties and Ábel Lajtha was awarded for her work in fostering relations with the United States.

“These days, when we are not surrounded solely by friends, we are truly in need of them,” Szijjártó said at the award ceremony. “When we constantly find ourselves facing the trap known as hypocrisy and political correctness, there is a need for patriots who work to further bolster the country’s good reputation around the world, disseminate objective reports about Hungary and who are brave enough to stick up for Hungary in hostile or questionable environments.”

Szijjártó said it is often easier to keep silent in order to avoid making a mistake. But nobody gets an award for staying silent, he added.

Speaking about the awardees’ lines of work, the minister said Hungarian-Austrian cooperation has always been “a unique area”, while Hungary and the US have also recently encountered some disputes in their cooperation. However, it would not do any of these countries any good if these disputes were to fester, so it is important for Hungary to make clear that it will always be a “fair and cooperative partner”, the minister said, adding that Hungary would nevertheless express its honest opinion on any issue.

The Friends of Hungary Foundation is a non-profit organisation formally established in 2013 with the aim of promoting the successful activities of Hungarians worldwide. The 150 members of the Friends of Hungary network include associations, clubs and individuals.

Photo: MTI

Source: http://mtva.hu/hu/hungary-matters