Foreign Ministry Deputy State Secretary Gergely Prőhle held talks with senior US State Department officials on tasks related to Hungary's forthcoming presidency of the International Holocaust Remembrance Allience (IHRA) and its current presidency of the Visegrad Group (V4) on 9 December.

The Hungarian Deputy State Secretary met special envoys Ira Forman and Douglas Davidson who are in charge of combating anti-Semitism and affairs related to the Holocaust, respectively. He outlined how the Government plans to cooperate with Hungarian Jewish organisations concerning Hungary's IHRA presidency in 2015.

"I asked them to acknowledge the Government's recent efforts to combat anti-Semitism not only during private talks but also publicly, in addition to critical remarks," he said.

Gergely Prőhle called racism a disorder in social cohesion which manifests itself most dangerously in anti-Roma attitudes. He noted that the European strategy for Roma Integration adopted during Hungary's EU presidency received a favourable assessment in Brussels on Monday. He added that the Roma issue would also be addressed during Hungary's IHRA presidency.

Gergely Prőhle briefed Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs Hoyt Brian Yee on the goals of Hungary's V4 presidency and the results of the V4 conference on the Western Balkans, which was held in Budapest in October.  Mr. Yee expressed his thanks to the Visegrad Group and to the Hungarian V4 presidency for their role in stabilising the region.

(Ministry of Foreign Affairs)