Both Hungary and Slovenia are dedicated to advancing further in building bilateral relations, bolstering Central European cooperation and working together to find solutions to European and global problems, Foreign Minister János Martonyi declared in the town of Szentgotthárd on 4 February.
Both Hungary and Slovenia are dedicated to advancing further in building bilateral relations, bolstering Central European cooperation and working together to find solutions to European and global problems, Foreign Minister János Martonyi declared in the town of Szentgotthárd on 4 February.
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Foreign Minister János Martonyi and his Slovenian counterpart, Karl Erjavec, took part in a memorial meeting in Szentgotthárd, Hungary, to commemorate the twentieth anniversary of the entering into effect of the Hungarian-Slovenian minority protection agreement.
Mr. Martonyi stressed that Hungary had been among the first countries to recognise the independent Slovenia in 1994 and concluded with it a basic treaty that was also followed by the signing of a bilateral minority protection agreement.
The agreement was path-breaking twenty years ago and served as a model for subsequent similar agreements, János Martonyi said, adding that it had been important for the development of international minority protection legislation. He called it particularly important that the bilateral agreement recognised and simultaneously codified the protection of individual as well as collective minority rights.
Following the commemorative meeting, the two foreign ministers will be going to Lendava (Lendva), Slovenia, to attend the opening of a Hungarian consular office there. The Hungarian Foreign Minister stated that the policy of international opening is at the very heart of Hungarian foreign policy, which is also reflected in the re-opening of diplomatic missions throughout the world.
At the same time, Hungary wants to be more open towards its neighbours, the Central European region and the entire world. János Martonyi claimed that „if a country wants to become open to the world, it must first and foremost be open towards its immediate environment.” The event in Lendava will be a step forward in that direction, and the Hungarian community in Slovenia has long demanded the opening of a Hungarian consular office in the city, around which many ethnic Hungarians live.
Slovenian Foreign Minister Karl Erjavec said that both Hungary and Slovenia put great emphasis on minority protection, and had done much in the past several years to ensure minority protection on the basis of the bilateral agreement. "The fact that the two countries' foreign ministers are celebrating the anniversary together indicates the agreement's importance," he said.
The Slovenian Foreign Minister highly appreciated Hungary's efforts to guarantee the protection of the Slovenian minority, noting the settlement of education matters and the possibility in the near future of sending a representative of the Slovenian minority to sit in Hungary's next parliament.
(Ministry of Foreign Affairs)
