By opening a regional centre in Budapest, UNOCT has given Hungary an important role in the global fight against terrorism, Szijjártó said.Continue reading
The United Nations counter-terrorism centre’s regional office in Budapest will assume further responsibilities, Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó said in New York, after meeting Vladimir Voronkov, Under-Secretary-General for the Counter-Terrorism Office, late on Wednesday.
Szijjártó said on Facebook that the Budapest office would be assigned “further and further functions” including a programme implemented in cooperation with the Balkans to thwart terrorism financing, setting up an anti-terrorism academy, and offering training in air traffic security.
A larger and larger part of the UN’s counter-terrorism activities will be coordinated from Budapest, the minister said.
Szijjártó said he was scheduled to meet UN Secretary General Antonio Gutteres, adding that he did not see eye to eye with Gutteres in a number of matters, but “there are issues over which cooperation is close”.
With a view to recent financial, migration, and health crises Szijjártó called for a “much more effective” political cooperation, adding that “when it comes to human lives, the disputes should not be determined by political ideologies”. He added that “the role of the UN should increase” and offered Hungary’s support in relevant efforts.
Featured photo illustration by Balázs Mohai/MTI