US aid agency values Hungary’s experience in helping persecuted Christians

The United States government’s aid agency USAID values Hungary’s experience in aiding persecuted Christian communities and considers the policy important, the head of the state secretariat for aiding persecuted Christians said in Washington, DC on Thursday.

Tristan Azbej, who is on a two-day visit to Washington, on Thursday held talks with USAID officials Hal Ferguson and Samah Norquist.

“The American side considers the Hungarian programme a model scheme,” Azbej told MTI about his talks.

“They plan on making the US’ scheme to aid persecuted Christians like the Hungarian one,”

he added, noting that Hungary’s policy was the first such government programme in the world.

“It had already been said at earlier ministerial-level meetings that Hungary’s scheme is a model whose main idea is providing help to persecuted Christians in their homelands,” he said.

The state secretary said his Thursday talks had touched on specifics of a potential US scheme similar to Hungary’s.

“The Americans are only just starting the programme that had been announced by Vice President Mike Pence,”

Azbej said, adding that Hungary’s experience in aiding persecuted Christians goes back to 2016.

Azbej said he informed his American partners on the specific Middle Eastern Christian communities in need of help.

He noted the Hungarian government’s donation aimed at helping to rebuild homes that had been destroyed by the Islamic State terrorist group in the northern Iraqi city of Tesqopa. (Details)

Hungary is currently contributing to the refurbishment of 31 Christian churches in Lebanon

and is also supporting schools, churches and hospitals of Christian communities in the region, he said.

Azbej also participated in roundtable discussions on religious affairs and attended a gala dinner hosted by the Center for Security Policy (CSP).

As we wrote before, the Hungarian government is continuing its policy of supporting Christian communities in the Middle East, the foreign minister said after attending a conference on religious freedom and the protection of religious communities organised by the US State Department in Washington, DC, read more HERE.

Source: MTI