Hungarian state keeps record of Hungarian community in New Zealand, says house speaker

Wellington (MTI) – Hungary is keeping in close touch with the Hungarian community in New Zealand, parliamentary speaker László Kövér said during meetings with representatives of the Hungarian community in Wellington and Auckland.

Parliamentary press chief Zoltán Szilágyi told MTI on Saturday that Kover had held talks on Friday with the deputy speaker of the New Zealand parliament, Chester Borrows, and placed a wreath at a traditional Hungarian carved wooden post and Szekler gate erected in the Hungarian Millennium Park near the parliament building in Wellington. In Auckland he placed flowers at a memorial place to Raoul Wallenberg in the Auckland Museum park, Szilágyi added.

During a visit in the New Zealand stock exchange, Kövér gave a presentation to local business leaders about investment opportunities in Hungary, and met the stock exchange’s head Andrew Halmos, who is of Hungarian descent. Kövér encouraged his negotiating partners to utilise opportunities in expanding economic and trade ties between Hungary and New Zealand.

At meetings with representatives of local Hungarian communities in Wellington and Auckland, Kövér said the main reason for his visit was to let them know that Hungary kept a record of them in line with the policy for ethnic Hungarian communities abroad introduced by the government in 2010. The Hungarian community in New Zealand, which has around 3,000 members, can significantly contribute to the expanded cooperation between the two countries, he added.

Before New Zealand, Kövér also paid a visit in Australia.

Source: MTI