Hungarians can be duly proud that the unity of the Hungarian nation is becoming stronger, Árpád János Potápi, the state secretary for Hungarian communities abroad, said on Tuesday, the closing day of a conference organised by the Friends of Hungary Foundation.
There are 12.5-13 million Hungarians living today in the Carpathian Basin, and another 2-2.5 million living in the diaspora, he told the online event.
The largest is the Hungarian diaspora community in the United States, while sizeable communities of Hungarians also live in Canada, Australia, Germany and France,
he said.
“A primary goal of Hungarians is to preserve their identity, and preserving the language is key in achieving that goal,” he said. “Being a Hungarian is a matter not primarily of origin, but of identifying with a culture,” Potápi added.
He noted the passing of laws “of symbolic significance” between 2010 and 2014 in Hungary which he said had laid the foundation of the country’s policy for Hungarians beyond the border. These included the
law on national cohesion
and the one on dual citizenship, among others, he said.
Source: MTI
