New Zealand’s foreign minister hold talks in Hungary

Budapest, August 18 (MTI) – Hungary and New Zealand are tightly bound by the fight against terrorism, Hungary’s foreign minister, Péter Szijjártó, said after talks with his New Zealand counterpart, Murray McCully, on Thursday.

Forcing back the Islamic State terrorist organisation is a common interest as “we Europeans are well aware that the more ISIS is pressed back, the lighter the immigration pressure on the continent,” Szijjártó said in Tapolca, in western Hungary.

He said Hungary and New Zealand have made similar contributions to the fight against terrorism, each being present with around 150 soldiers in Iraq, where they offer training to the Iraqi army and the Kurdish forces.

Szijjártó noted that Hungary supported New Zealand’s quest to become a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council and will back its council presidency in September, too.

The two ministers agreed that New Zealand will support Hungary’s bid for membership of the UN Human Rights Council in the autumn vote in New York.

Hungary was last a member in the UN’s most important human rights body between 2009 and 2012, and it is applying again to have a seat in 2017-2019, he said.

Commenting on economic cooperation, Szijjártó said Hungary is a dedicated supporter of the free-trade agreement between the EU and New Zealand, but “we will insist on taking into consideration Hungary’s agricultural sensitivities”.