Hungary and Brazil share similar approaches to issues that pose dilemmas in world politics today, such as the need for action against migration and that discrimination against Christians is unacceptable, Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó said on Thursday.

After meeting counterpart Ernesto Araujo, he told a joint press conference that this was the first occasion for a Brazilian foreign minister to hold talks in Hungary.

Szijjártó said he had agreed with Araujo to coordinate their respective countries’ actions in international forums.

We are proud to be among the six countries that voted against the United Nations Migration Compact, the most dangerous document ever”

Szijjártó said. “We reserve the right to decide who should enter and with whom we’ll live together,” he added. They highlighted the security impacts of migration.

Szijjártó and his counterpart agreed that discrimination against Christians, as seen in many parts of the world, was unacceptable. “International public opinion does not see Christianity as the most persecuted religion in the world,” he said, adding that this was lamentable.

Hungary has so far helped 35,000 Christians in the Middle East stay to remain in the homelands or return to them, Szijjártó said. “This should be in the focus of international organisations rather than managing or promoting migration.”

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Hungary and Brazil both believe in promoting their national interests and rejecting attempts at influence from abroad, he said. This serves a good basis for cooperation, Szijjártó added. Hungary supports Brazil’s bids to be a member of the United Nations Security Council and to join OECD, he said.

Szijjártó praised Brazil’s international role and announced the Hungarian government’s strategy “to build a new foundation for Hungary-Brazil ties”. The government has set up a 415 million euro credit line with Hungary’s Eximbank to finance bilateral business cooperation with special regard to promoting Hungarian exports of food, IT, water management and pharmaceutical products and to further strengthen Hungarian companies active in Brazil, he said.

They agreed the Hungary-Brazil mixed economic committee will be chaired by the two foreign ministers. Hungary and Brazil will make their cooperation closer in the area of education, too, and give new impetus to bilateral trade, turnover of which was 430 million dollars last year, Szijjártó said.

Szijjártó said hopefully Brazil’s president would visit Hungary, having received Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s invitation early in January.

Araujo said Hungary and Brazil were countries working “to make their voices heard” in the world and were brave enough to meet challenges if their ideals made it necessary. Brazil is ready to cooperate with Hungary in multilateral organisations to protect their values and Christian minority groups. He called the persecution of Christians worrying, and added that addressing that problem was a top priority for his country.

In the featured photo: Ernesto Araujo and Péter Szijjártó. Photo by Szilárd Koszticsák/MTI