Hungary opens new diplomatic mission in African country
Hungary is opening a diplomatic mission in Dar es Salaam, in Tanzania, in September in light of the “huge potential” in bilateral cooperation, Péter Szijjártó, the minister of foreign affairs and trade, said in Budapest on Friday.
New diplomatic mission in Tanzania
With the world focused on the two major ongoing wars, the situation in Africa gets less attention than necessary, Szijjártó told a joint press conference with Tanzanian counterpart Mahmoud Thabit Kombo, according to a ministry statement. “Africa has recently faced the most severe threat of terrorism in its history,” Szijjártó said, adding that recurring armed conflicts on the continent led to migrant waves making their way to Europe, causing security challenges.
He said Africa’s fast-growing population was causing labour-market, health-care and education challenges, which certain countries were incapable of handling on their own. “Therefore we continue to urge the establishment of a comprehensive economic and development cooperation scheme,” the minister said, warning that failure to adopt such a programme could lead to “the biggest-ever humanitarian disaster” or Europe having to face “the most severe migration pressure of all time”.
Conflicts can easily escalate
He said Hungary respected the African countries that were stable, pro-peace and seeking opportunities for cooperation. “Tanzania happens to be such a country, and it contributes more than 1,500 peacekeepers to the management of security challenges worldwide, and aims to use its work in the east African community to bring stability to the entire region,” Szijjártó said.
Commenting on the conflict between Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo, Szijjártó warned that it could easily escalate. Hungary and Tanzania, he added, were in agreement on the need for a peaceful settlement, that the conflict could only be resolved through negotiation and the need to respect territorial integrity.
“Like Hungary, Tanzania, too, is a pro-peace country, and though geographically it is far from both us and Ukraine, the negative effects of the war in Ukraine ara also being felt in Tanzania,” he said. “This means that like Europe, Africa also has an interest in the war in Ukraine ending as soon as possible.”
US-Russia talks welcomed
Szijjártó welcomed the talks between the United States and Russia, saying they offered an opportunity to end the war and establish peace. Meanwhile, Szijjártó underscored the “serious potential” in Hungarian-Tanzanian ties, noting that bilateral trade turnover has quadrupled over the last three years.
The two countries have agreed that Hungary will launch a 55 million dollar project to develop Tanzania’s water management system, Szijjártó said. He said there are currently five ongoing Hungarian development projects aimed at improving Tanzania’s education system, noting that Hungary offers scholarships to Tanzanian university students each year.
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