Szijjarto: Ebola more than healthcare issue

(MTI) – The Ebola epidemic featured high on the agenda of a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Luxembourg on Monday, the Hungarian foreign minister told journalists.

“The epidemic which has claimed lives in western Africa is more than a healthcare challenge and the EU must take this into consideration,” Peter Szijjarto said.

He said that in that part of the world issues on much smaller scale can destroy entire economies or destabilise political systems.

Szijjarto called it a global responsibility to tackle the situation from an economic as well from a political aspect.

He said that the situation in the Middle East, Iraq and Syria was also discussed at the meeting. In this regard the foreign ministers of the Visegrad Four countries of Hungary, Slovakia, the Czech Rep and Poland, agreed that the EU should lead efforts aimed at protecting Christians in the region, he added.

Szijjarto said he held talks with Titus Corlatean, his Romanian counterpart, about bilateral economic issues, on the sidelines of the Luxembourg meeting.

They discussed plans for connecting the two countries’ energy networks, Szijjarto said, adding that a gas interconnector could still not ensure reverse flow at full capacity. He said he urged tie-ups between the two countries’ electricity networks.

Szijjarto said that bilateral trade is expected to total more than 7 billion euros this year.

Source: http://mtva.hu/hu/hungary-matters