Both the Committee on Foreign Affairs and the Committee on Human Rights of the Hungarian Parliament put the discussion of Előd Tóásó’s case on their agenda on May 22th, 2012. Előd Tóásó, who is accused of crime against the state, has been unlawfully in detention in Bolivia for more than three years. In both committee meetings, Gergely Gulyás, Member of Parliament (Fidesz) and Vice-Chairman of the Committee on Human Rights as well as Márton Vajna, former Head of the Foreign Office of the President of the Republic reported the discussions and experiences of their three-day visit – commissioned by Foreign Minister János Martonyi – to La Paz. During the visit, the delegation gathered information about the case of Előd Tóásó held in detention.
Hungarian Foreign Minister János Martonyi emphasised that his visit to South America had given new impetus to Hungary’s relations with Latin America.
The Hungarian Foreign Minister had business discussions in Sao Paulo, the economic and financial centre of Brazil on May 17th, 2012.
The Foreign Ministry of Romania summoned Oszkár Füzes, Hungary’s Ambassador to Bucharest on 16 May 2012. In the absence of the Ambassador, Ádám Balázs fulfilled the request as chargé d’affaires ad interim.
János Martonyi met the Hungarian community in the Hungarian House of Sao Paulo on May 16th, 2012. The Minister of Foreign Affairs emphasised in his speech the fact that the new Fundamental Law of Hungary took responsibility for the Hungarian communities and the importance of and support for the preservation of national identity.
Within the framework of the Hungarian foreign policy’s global opening, János Martonyi pays an official visit to Brazil, the country with the fifth largest territory and the sixth largest economy in the world on 15-18 May 2012.
Foreign Minister János Martonyi opened the exhibition on the life of the Swedish rescuer, compiled in Hungary, at the Wallenberg commemoration in the building of the Federal Audit Office of Argentina on May 14th, 2012.
The Hungarian Minister for National Resources decorated Mr. Jan Kennis, Dutch cultural diplomat – current vice president of SICA – with the award Pro Cultura Hungarica. The decoration was handed over, in the name of the Minister by H.E. Gyula Sümeghy, Ambassador of Hungary to the Netherlands during a short ceremony at the Embassy on 11 May 2012.
János Martonyi met Argentinean Foreign Minister Héctor Timerman in Buenos Aires on May 14, 2012. Reviewing the bilateral relations of the countries, the two Ministers pointed out that there were several unexploited opportunities in the development of bilateral cooperation, especially in the field of economic relations.
Before the Hungarian-Argentinean bilateral diplomatic discussions, János Martonyi met the representatives of the Hungarians living in the South American state during his official visit to Argentina: he commemorated József Mindszenty, attended an oath of citizenship ceremony, and presented the Knight’s Cross of the Order of Merit of Hungary to the editor-in-chief of the Argentínai Magyar Hírlap (Hungarian Journal of Argentina).
Meeting of the ministers for development cooperation at the Foreign Affairs Council will be held in Brussels on the 14 May, 2012. Hungary will be represented by Ambassador Péter Györkös, Permanent Representative of Hungary to the EU. The topics of the meeting are the future of the EU development policy, EU budget support to third countries, reflection on the EU’s collective development aid targets, Burma/Myanmar and preparations for Rio+20.
Taliban groups committed a terrorist attack May 2, 2012 in the neighborhood of Kabul in an area where international organizations and representations of Western agencies are located. The suicide bombing caused the death of six persons. Hungarian nationals were not injured or killed in the blast according to the sources of the Hungarian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The colleagues of the Hungarian Embassy in Kabul, the military and civilian personnel of the Hungarian ISAF mission are safe and secure.
János Martonyi gave a speech at the 19th Foreign Ministers’ Meeting of the European Union and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations on 27 April 2012. The Foreign Minister of Hungary outlined the directions and the results of the search for solutions to the economic and financial problems in the European Union.
HUNGARY believes that the real challenge of realising the free trade agreement (FTA) talks between the European Union (EU) and ASEAN lies in the latter regional bloc's diverse economies as opposed to political differences involving Myanmar in recent years, its foreign affairs minister said here yesterday.
HUNGARY is keen on helping Brunei develop its agricultural sector by sharing its expertise and technology in water management and treatment, its Foreign Affairs Minister told The Brunei Times yesterday.
János Martonyi has arrived in Brunei to participate in the EU-ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Meeting on 26-27 April 2012. The Foreign Minister had a bilateral discussion with Erlinda F. Basilio, Undersecretary of the Department of Foreign Affairs of the Philippines on the first day of the meeting, mainly negotiating on issues of economy.
Foreign Minister János Martonyi – on his official visit to Indonesia – had a meeting with his counterpart, Marty Natalegawa in Jakarta on 24 April 2012. The parties explored several new areas of cooperation during their talks.
At the start of his tour in Southeast Asia on 24 April 2012, Foreign Minister János Martonyi gave an interview to The Jakarta Post, the leading daily newspaper of Indonesia published in English. The Minister introduced the purposes of his visit in the paper aimed at Indonesian businessmen and decision makers, as well as foreigners living in the Asian country. The head of the Foreign Ministry focussed on the overview of the Hungarian-Indonesian relations, and following the interview, he negotiates with his colleague, Marty Natalegawa.
On 17 April 2012, Foreign Minister János Martonyi conducted negotiations with Peter Slipper, Speaker of the Australian House of Representatives.
Statement of the Visegrad Group countries – Hungary, the Czech Republic, Poland, and Slovakia – on the decision of the Swiss Government to re-establish quantitative limitations for certain categories of residence permits as regards EU citizens who are nationals of eight of the EU Member States.