Mike Pompeo’s Trip To Budapest Was A “Historic Visit”
- 13 Feb 2019 7:47 AM
- Hungary Matters
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s trip to Budapest was a “historic visit”, the State Secretary for International Communication and Relations said in Washington, where he is on a three-day official visit.
Zoltán Kovács is holding talks with Republican and Democratic Party legislators and government officials, in addition to which he held a lecture on Hungarian domestic politics and the upcoming European Parliament elections for American journalists and American Hungarians.
In a statement to Hungarian news agency MTI, the State Secretary highlighted the importance of the U.S. Secretary of State’s visit, particularly, as he explained, because the United States was previously “prone to forgetting about Central Europe and abandoned this region”. Mr. Kovács evaluated Mike Pompeo’s trip to Budapest as “the beginning of a new era”.
He pointed out the similarity between the U.S. and Hungarian approach to illegal immigration.
“The anti-migration stance of the countries of Central Europe is derived from our historic experiences. Sovereignty is extremely important to us”, he underlined.
Mr. Kovács stressed that NATO is very important to Hungary, noting that the Budapest administration is increasing its contribution to the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation and is also prepared to increase its military.
“The spring European Parliament elections will probably be the first in the European Union’s history with a single, determining issue: the illegal immigration that is affecting every part of our lives, and the issue of migration in general”, the State Secretary said.
“The Hungarian response to immigration is family policy”, he added.
“To us, the most important issue is helping families”, he emphasised, referring to the measures aimed at helping families and encouraging the birth of more children announced by Prime Minister Viktor Orbán on Sunday.
With relation to the European Parliament elections, Mr. Kovács pointed out that prior to the vote the continent’s political left and far right are “entering into matrimony”.
“This is also true in Hungary, where the Left is preparing to enter into an alliance with the Jobbik party, which has always been anti-Semitic and xenophobic”, he stressed.
“Jobbik has become a pro-immigration party, and has decided to enter into cooperation with the Left”, the State Secretary for International Communication and Relations said.
MTI Photo: Burger Zsolt
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