The head of the minister negotiated with Osman Saleh Mohammed, Foreign Minister of Eritrea, and then highlighted at their joint press conference that in order for African countries to retain their populations, peace, security and economic development are needed in Africa. Therefore, Hungary does not agree with the position of Brussels that it must be accepted that migration is a necessary consequence of the situation in Africa and that the right policy is to inspire migration processes, he explained. He added that, on the other hand, Hungary agrees with Eritrea that if many come from Africa, it threatens the development of the countries there.

Peter Szijjártó said that Africa should be helped to stay and not come to Europe. Eritrea has done a lot for the security and peace he needs, he said.

As he said, for the economic development of Eritrea, Hungary supported the EU lifting its sanctions against the African country, which happened last year. In addition, in the UN Human Rights Council, Hungary made it clear that it acknowledged Eritrea's steps to guarantee human rights - he recalled.

The Foreign Minister noted that neither Hungary nor Eritrea supported the UN refugee package, which confuses illegal migration with asylum. The World Organization is trying to bring back the migration package that has not been voted by more than 40 UN member states, he added.

Péter Szijjártó pointed out that Eritrea and Ethiopia had been in conflict for a long time, but they were on the path of reconciliation, making significant progress on regional stability in the region. Africa's stability is important for Europe's security, so Hungary has always supported this reconciliation process, ”he added.

Before the press conference, the ministers signed an intergovernmental economic and technical cooperation agreement. In connection with this, Péter Szijjártó said that the agreement opens up new opportunities for cooperation.

Investments are needed in Eritrea

He said that Hungary provides scholarships for tertiary education for 10 students from Eritrea and is negotiating a grant program to build a cancer diagnosis center in Eritrea. The Eritrean Foreign Minister stressed that I would like the population to stay in their home country, so it is not good if they are encouraged to come to Europe.

He emphasized that Africa has a large population and a lot of resources, but needs investment. African and European countries can complement each other, and their cooperation can be mutually beneficial - he said.

He sees his country in an important geopolitical situation, which offers many opportunities for cooperation with other countries.

Péter Szijjártó also spoke to the question that although they try to believe that migration pressure is over, the numbers do not show this. "There is a migratory pressure with us", therefore, cooperation between Africa and Europe is important and Hungary is therefore open towards Eritrea, he pointed out. He said that we should not encourage Africans to come out of their country, but help to stay there and agree with Eritrea.

The Foreign Minister stated on the question of Hungary's debate in the European Parliament (EP): "they do not participate in a theatrical performance organized by the Soros network." Hopefully, as a result of the EP election, the anti-immigration forces will be the majority and there will be no such events in the EP, he said.

He also said that hopefully the wage agreement between Audi's management and the workers will be established soon, but the government has no role to play.

He also asked the question: Hungary is a reliable NATO member state, as shown by its role in the Alliance's missions. Anyone questioning Hungary's commitment to NATO will do so with bad intentions. He explained that Hungary is negotiating with the United States on the modernization of the defense co-operation agreement, which takes time, but is ongoing.

Commented: US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo visits Central Europe in mid-February, discussing details of the road.

Péter Szijjártó also said that the Slovak Presidency of the Visegrad Group (V4) convened a V4 + Germany summit by the beginning of February, which is justified because V4 is Germany's first European trading partner, so it is important that economic and political issues are regularly discussed.

Dangerous for Europe, Brussels policy is damaging to Africa