"Our citizen was able to board the plane in the international operation led by the Italian army," said the Foreign MinisterContinue reading
The Niger crisis could have direct and serious migration and security consequences for the whole of Europe, the State Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, responsible for programs to help persecuted Christians, told MTI on Thursday. Azbej Tristan visited Niger and Chad in May, where he delivered humanitarian donations to support the local Catholic Church’s educational activities and the care of refugees.
During the official visit to Niger, the Hungarian delegation was received by several high-ranking government officials and Mohamed Bazoum, the current president of Niger, who is under coup d’état. The meeting led to the launch of several cooperation activities, including the Hungarian-Nigerian Defense Cooperation Agreement, which has since been signed.
The state secretary explained that Niger, a country of 26 million people, was one of the last stable countries in the Sahel region of North Africa until the military coup of July 27.
The Sahel region is the EU’s external border of security and migration, as it includes neighbors of Europe’s immediate neighbors.
If the Sahel were to lose stability, this could have serious migration and security consequences for the whole Mediterranean region and Europe.
He added that the Sahel region includes the transit and source countries for migrants from Africa to Europe via the Mediterranean.
The state secretary said that Niger’s political importance had increased in the situation of unrest in the region, because although it was facing many challenges, it was a stable and democratic country. In recent years,
four countries neighboring Niger have been invaded by militants from terrorist organizations, causing a minor humanitarian crisis and an internal refugee crisis in the country,
but the stable state organization has so far been able to fight them.
He said that the military coup in Niger last Wednesday is expected to lead to further armed conflicts, humanitarian disaster, and migration crisis.
In the coming years, up to 100 million migrants could leave Africa for Europe, and Europe does not have the border management solutions to deal with a migratory wave of this scale.
Both Hungary and the EU are calling for a diplomatic solution to restore stability and peace. In such a situation, the role of neighboring Chad becomes even more important, where humanitarian risk management and aid can provide a solution.
The state secretary explained that since its launch in 2017, the Hungary Helps Program has focused its activities on the Middle East and the Sahel region (Mali, Niger, Northern Nigeria) in its efforts to prevent humanitarian crises and assist Christian communities persecuted by Islamist terrorist organizations.
Featured image: facebook/SOS MEDITERRANEE France
