Supporting the European integration of the Western Balkans is a key objective of Hungary's foreign policy, Szijjártó said.Continue reading
The Orbán government decided in September what the Hungarian delegation should represent at this year’s United Nations General Assembly. It also included the idea of a Hungarian president of next year’s assembly.
The role is filled this year by Abdulla Shahid, Foreign Minister of the Maldives. While the President has no real political power, it is a great honor and prestige for any country to have his or her representative chair the Assembly for a year, which is usually attended by the leaders of almost all 193 Member States, HVG reports.
A Hungarian diplomat was President of the General Assembly only once, Imre Hollai, in 1982-1983. He was also Deputy Foreign Minister.
A total of 92 million (EUR 256,000) forints will be spent on the campaign this year and the next, and if the position is secured, a further 660 million (almost EUR 1,840,000) will be spent “to cover the expenses necessary to fill the post of president.”
In September, the government also said that “the UN should refrain from referring to the Global Compact on Migration and the Global Compact on Refugees in new General Assembly resolutions or formal statements even in a hidden form, since we understand that the purpose of these two documents is to achieve mandatory and general recognition, even though several Member States have not signed them and we do not wish to participate in their implementation in any way,” HVG reports.
Featured image via Gergely Botár/Prime Minister’s Press Office/MTI