State secretary calls on Slovenians, Hungarians to jointly foster culture, mother tongue

Photo: MTI/PM' Press Office/Benko Vivien Cher

Slovenians and Hungarians should jointly foster their culture and mother tongue and rely on one another, Miklós Soltész, the state secretary for church and ethnic relations of the Prime Minister’s Office, said in Lendava (Lendva) on Thursday.

Christianity, their common faith, lends a great deal of strength to this endeavour, the state secretary said after meeting Catholic Bishop Peter Stumpf, Lutheran Bishop Leon Novak, and the Reformed pastor and pastoress of Murska Subota (Muraszombat).

“There’s a particularly pressing need for inter-denominational cooperation to face challenges stemming partly from migration, such as the Muslim push, and partly from the anti-Christian thoughts cherished by some western European ideologies,” Soltész told MTI by phone.

The state secretary visited Saint Catherine of Alexandria Church in Lendava, whose tower was damaged by two Croatian earthquakes last year and is being renovated in part from Hungarian funds.

Orbán, Jansa discuss pandemic measures, vaccination

Prime Minister Viktor Orbán discussed with Janez Jansa, his Slovenian counterpart, coronavirus protection measures and the importance of vaccination, in Porto on Thursday evening, Orbán’s press chief told MTI.

They agreed that vaccination against Covid-19 was the only measure of halting the third wave of the pandemic, Bertalan Havasi said.

Orbán told Jansa that a gradual reopening of Hungary was made possible by the availability of vaccines to a broad circle of people. He noted that services can again be used by those holding a vaccination certificate.

The two premiers however underlined that the pandemic is not yet over which is why Hungarians and Slovenes must behave responsibly both in their own interest and in the interest of others.

They advised those who have not signed up for vaccination to register, Havasi said.

Orbán and Jansa are attending an EU summit in Porto.