Hungary seeks to support Ethiopian efforts, says house speaker

House Speaker László Kövér voiced his appreciation for Ethiopia’s supporting nearly one million refugees in the country, during talks in Addis Ababa on Wednesday, parliament’s press office reported.

Kövér arrived in Ethiopia at the invitation of Tagesse Chaffo, his Ethiopian counterpart, and was received by Ethiopian President Sahle-Work Zewde and Abune Mathias, head of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church.

During talks with Chaffo, Kövér noted that Ethiopia was the second recipient of refugees in Africa, and added that Hungary seeks to support Ethiopian efforts through its Hungary Helps programme.

Talks with the Orthodox patriarch focused on providing help to persecuted Christians. Kövér said that Hungary’s financial aid would be focused on four refugee camps in Tigre state, accommodating some 60,000 Christians from Eritrea and South Sudan.

Photo: MTI

For that matter, a delegation of government and church representatives will set off for the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Kenya to “assess opportunities for assistance and deliver the government’s aid”, Tristan Azbej, state secretary in charge of aid for persecuted Christian and the Hungary Helps programme, told MTI on Wednesday.

Azbej, MEP György Hölvényi, as well as monks Csaba Böjte and Szabolcs Sajgó will visit Richard Hardi, a Hungarian ophthalmologist in southern Congo, where he and his colleagues treat over 10,000 patients annually, and hand over a government donation.

The delegation will meet local church leaders and visit a school and orphanage in Kinshasa, built with Hungarian contribution in 2014, Azbej said.

In Kenya, the delegation will assess ways to help Christians threatened by the al-Shabaab terrorist organisation, and contribute to efforts to retain local residents through humanitarian aid, the state secretary said. He added that the delegation will also look into ways to help local Christian churches with their welfare services.

Featured image: MTI

Source: MTI