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“We have today decided to launch a comprehensive strategic cooperation program with the Democratic Republic of the Congo,” Prime Minister Viktor Orbán announced at a press conference after talks with the President of the African country, Félix Tshisekedi, in Budapest on Monday.
The Hungarian Prime Minister emphasized that the President of Congo had never visited Hungary before, and that Félix Tshisekedi’s visit was therefore of historic importance.
The importance of Africa cannot be overestimated, he said, adding that the continent will play an enormous role in the future of the whole world. “We are talking about a huge mass of people, which is difficult to imagine with a European mind, because Europe’s population is shrinking. To feed, educate, employ, and provide healthcare for so many people is an unprecedented challenge for Africa,” he said.
The Prime Minister added:
Hungary believes that a comprehensive development strategy for Africa is needed, “something we have initiated several times in the EU and continue to advocate.”
Speaking at the press event, the Congo President noted that he and the Hungarian Prime Minister had held a long working meeting and had examined areas that could be “axes” of cooperation. He added that it was important for them that the visit took place now, as Hungary currently holds the rotating presidency of the Council of the European Union.
Mr. Orbán said that
on Monday, they had agreed to launch a comprehensive strategic cooperation program based on an economic, an infrastructure development and an education pillar.
As the “economic flagship” of Hungarian-Congolese cooperation, he highlighted the 600 million dollar Hungarian-led and partly Hungarian-funded road and bridge project linking Congo with Zambia.
An historic visit.
We have never before had the honour to welcome the President of the Democratic Republic of Congo in Hungary. I want to thank President Tshisekedi for taking this important step in relations. pic.twitter.com/0QJonSeC2d
— Orbán Viktor (@PM_ViktorOrban) September 30, 2024
Hungary has one of the world’s largest battery production capacities, the Prime Minister said, pointing out that “we are currently the world’s fourth largest producer and will be the world’s second largest producer next year.
The raw materials needed for this, especially cobalt, come from Congo, therefore there will also be an opportunity for trilateral cooperation in this area.”
Félix Tshisekedi gave the example of their strategic mineral resources, which are already being processed in Hungary. They would like to develop such a model of cooperation in several sectors, such as agriculture, livestock breeding, or fisheries.
The President stressed that “we consider it important to say what challenges we are facing,” noting that Congo’s development is made difficult by the fact that it is currently “the victim of a barbaric attack” by neighboring Rwanda. He stressed that the attack had caused significant humanitarian losses, but that a peace process had already been launched with Angola’s intervention, leading to a ceasefire. Viktor Orbán recalled that the Hungary Helps Agency had implemented twelve development and humanitarian programs in Congo.
Via MTI, Featured image: MTI/Koszticsák Szilárd