President Novák Meets Members of the Friends of Hungary Foundation

L-R: Minister Gergely Gulyás, Professor E. Sylvester Vizi and President Katalin Novák

President of the Republic Katalin Novák met the members of the Friends of Hungary Foundation (MOBA) during the V. Demographic Summit held at the Museum of Fine Arts in Budapest. MOBA is the publisher of our newsportals, Hungary Today and Ungarn Heute.

Among the guests were Gergely Gulyás, the Minister heading the Prime Minister’s Office, E. Sylvester Vizi, President of the Friends of Hungary Foundation, and János Martonyi, former Foreign Minister, and member of the board of MOBA.

In his opening address, President of MOBA E. Sylvester Vizi said that the Friends of Hungary Foundation is opening its annual conference on Friday in Budapest, attended by some 150 people from 20 different countries. He praised the work of Hungarians who contribute to world heritage: artists, musicians, inventors, and our Nobel Prize winners all make us a great nation, he said. He quoted the 19th century statesman, István Széchenyi, who said that “if we are together, we are great.” He emphasized that our thousand-year-long statehood proves that we want to be Europeans, yet we also belong to the wider world.

The MOBA president praised the Demographic Summit in Budapest, and said that this conference has put Hungary in global focus again. He also commended the work of President Katalin Novák, who is the patron of the summit. E. Sylvester Vizi called the Hungarian President the most successful ambassador of the Friends of Hungary Foundation. He concluded by paying tribute to the work of the Hungary Today and Ungarn Heute news sites, that in his view, report from Hungary with great professionalism, serving as a crucial source of information for all who are interested in our homeland.

Gergely Gulyás spoke about the rising interest in Hungarian achievements, from sports, to science and culture and asked guests of the MOBA conference to strengthen the good reputation of our country. In the name of the Hungarian government he pledged his support for Hungarian communities abroad and emphasized the importance of the work of all of those, who work tirelessly to enhance Hungary’s good name.

President Novák also addressed guests of the MOBA conference before having personal discussions with them. She spoke about the V. Demographic Summit that she is the main patron of, currently underway in Budapest. The central focus of the summit are families. She warned that the greatest challenge that the West is currently facing is severe population decline. Kindergartens and schools are empty, and some people draw more pleasure from working with artificial intelligence, for instance, than from having their own, real children, she pointed out.

The Hungarian President also spoke of another family- the family of Hungarians who live across the globe, some of whom are now visiting Budapest for the MOBA conference. Hungarians living in the motherland and those who live abroad care for each other, she emphasized. She called on her guests to witness how Hungary is actively becoming the focus point of a discussion that is essential for the entire world. She said that guests are coming to the summit not only from countries with worrying negative demographic trends, but also from ones where the demographic boom is causing severe social problems, such as Tanzania.

In her closing remarks, the president said that if we make a mistake in this existential question, we will invariably give up the future of our children and grandchildren. She thanked the Friends of Hungary Foundation for its support, and in return she also pledged her personal future support for the Foundation.

The meeting with President Novák was held at the Museum of Fine Arts in central Budapest where the V. Demographic Summit is currently being held.

Featured Image: Hungary Today