French Minister in Hungary again after seven years

Minister of State for Sports Tünde Szabó had talks with French Sports Minister Laura Flessel at the Duna Arena. It adds to the significance of the meeting that no French leader of the rank of minister had been to Hungary since 2010.

First of all, Tünde Szabó congratulated the French Sports Minister on the excellent performance of French athletes at the 17th FINA World Aquatic Championships. They are currently ranked fifth in terms of medals won.

Laura Flessel congratulated her Hungarian counterpart on the successful implementation of the World Championships, and expressed her most sincere appreciation in connection with the central venue of the sporting event, the Duna Arena.

During the course of the talks, Laura Flessel expressed her interest in everyday physical education and Hungarian sports scholarship programmes.

Tünde Szabó introduced the system of Hungarian sports administration, and said that the Hungarian Government looks upon sports as a priority strategic sector. Everyday physical education is therefore one of the foundation stones of its target system which serves to guarantee minimum forty-five minutes of physical education every day for elementary and secondary school students as part of the school curriculum. At the same time, the Hungarian Sports Stars scholarship programme serves to coordinate active competitive sports and studies in higher education. Within the framework of the programme, scholarship grants are awarded every six months on average to 100 athletes studying in higher education who render outstanding performance in sports.

During the course of the meeting, the French Sports Minister specifically urged the conclusion of a cooperation agreement between the two countries in the field of sports. She further updated her Hungarian counterpart on the progress of the 2024 Paris Olympic bid. She said that France is determined to host the Olympic Games in 2024, and to this end they also wish to rely on the support of Hungary’s sports leadership.

Tünde Szabó and Laura Flessel agreed to start negotiations in the interest of signing a cooperation agreement between the two countries within the shortest possible time.

Photo: kormany.hu

Source: Ministry of Human Capacities/MTI