Speaking ahead of a meeting of the UN Office of Counter-Terrorism, Peter Szijjarto welcomed that the department had recently become part of the UN's regular budget. At a time when terrorism is increasingly threatening global security, keeping the office away from the regular budget had been "unfair", he said.

Hungary works together with others to achieve that goal, and is punching above its weight in the fight, as shown by the fact that the second largest headquarters of the Office of Counter-Terrorism after that in New York is in Budapest, he said. The office is supported by Hungary's government, and is currently employing 28 people, he said.

Regional offices are key to curbing terrorists' movements worldwide, he said. The effectiveness of that work is also highlighted by UN Under Secretary General Vladimir Voronkov's proposal last year to transfer further anti-terrorism activities to Budapest, and plans to open a global support centre, Szijjarto said. Both proposals are subject of the meeting on Wednesday, he added.

"It is clearly an enormous honour that the UN is counting so greatly on Hungary in such a global security challenge, and that they want to concentrate its forces in Hungary to this extent. It shows clearly that Hungary retains its special place in global diplomacy," Szijjarto said.

Szijjarto said that US President Donald Trump's inauguration had been "good news" for the global fight against terrorism, adding that Trump had brought about several important agreements on the matter.

He said international efforts must be multiplied, adding that terrorist organisations were focusing on Africa.

"The Islamic State committed more than 1,200 terrorist attacks in Africa last year alone, while al-Kaida and its associates committed 1,700, mostly in the Sahel and Sub-Saharan Africa," he said.

Further, Szijjarto said terrorism and illegal migration created a vicious circle, "because the more acute the threat of terrorism, the more are forced to leave their homes, and the flood of migrants facilitates the movement of terrorists to various points of the world."

Hungary has made "incredible efforts" to protect its borders in the past decade, and has prevented the entry of almost 500,000 illegal migrants, he said.

"We shall not give up the right to decide who we allow to enter Hungary, and the right to decide who can live in our country. No one may decide that for us, neither Brussels, nor Paris, nor Berlin," he said.

Regarding business meetings during the day, Szijjarto said US companies had an important role in Hungary's economic growth, and they have decided for new investments "constantly during the past four years, despite the hostile approach of the previous US administration".

He said it was important that US "punitive measures, taken expressly as revenge," should be withdrawn, adding that he and Secretary of State Marco Rubio had agreed on that during a phone call in January. He called for a new agreement on the avoidance of double taxation to further increase Hungary's attraction to US investors.

Szijjarto proposes unification of UN anti-terrorism operations

Peter Szijjarto, Hungary's minister of foreign affairs and trade, on Wednesday proposed the unification of the UN's anti-terrorism operations, which he said were now "dispersed among various organisations".

Speaking at the meeting of the UN Global Counter-Terrorism Coordination Compact in New York on Wednesday, Szijjarto said mankind was living through "an era of dangers and constant crises", with the uncertainties causing serious security challenges.

He said the threat of terrorism was stronger than ever, and called for joint global action, according to a ministry statement. One of the most important tasks of the UN must be coordinating international efforts, he added.

The UN needs certain reforms, such as a unified anti-terrorism department with an appropriate budget, he added.

The threat of terrorism is growing especially strongly in Africa, he said. The population of the continent is projected to grow by 950 million people in the coming decades, and so aid in creating jobs, healthcare and education is crucial, he said.

"If we can't manage that, there are two very bad scenarios. One is the largest ever humanitarian disaster, the other the largest ever migration pressure on Europe. We want to avoid both."

Hungary is implementing several local development programmes in Africa, and is offering 1,845 government grants for students wishing to study in Hungary, he said.
 

Source: 
MTI - The Hungarian News Agency, founded in 1881.

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