The joint meeting of NATO foreign and defence ministers was held in Brussels on 18-19 April, 2012. Hungary was represented at the meetings by Minister for Foreign Affairs János Martonyi and Minister of Defence Csaba Hende.
Deputy State Secretary Gergely Prőhle arrived in Washington on April 15, 2012. The purpose of his visit is to continue bilateral talks with his American counterparts in the State Department.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Hungary expresses its deep concern about the attempted rocket launch by North Korea on 13 April, which is a clear violation of UN Security Council Resolution 1874.
On 11 April, Deputy State Secretary János Hóvári participated in the opening ceremony of the Szeged Model United Nations (SZEMUN) Conference, where he delivered a lecture.
On 10 April 2012, Foreign Minister János Martonyi consulted with Massoud Barzani, the President of the Iraqi Kurdistan Region, who visited Hungary within the framework of his tour involving Bulgaria and the United States.
Following the agreements with Canada and Australia, Hungary’s Embassy in Damascus also ensures the diplomatic and consular representation of the United Kingdom in Syria on the basis of a bilateral agreement.
“The countries of Latin America can no longer be ignored when it comes to handling the global challenges affecting the whole of humanity; therefore, we must have stronger cooperation with them,” claimed Foreign Minister János Martonyi in the plenary session, the closing programme of the two-day-long Hungarian-Latin American Forum (MLAF). The main organiser of the series of events was the Ministry for Foreign Affairs, but the Hungarian Investment and Trade Agency (HITA), the National Innovation Office (NIH), and the Hungarian Institute of International Affairs (MKI) also provided venues for the programmes.
On 2-3 April, Foreign Minister János Martonyi paid an official visit to Skopje, where he conducted discussions with his partner, Macedonian Foreign Minister Nikola Poposki, with President Gjorge Ivanov, and with Teuta Arifi, Deputy Prime Minister in charge of EU Integration.
Hungary highly values and cherishes the memory of Raoul Wallenberg, the martyr Swedish diplomat. On the occasion of the 100th anniversary of his birth, the Government of Hungary decided to declare the year 2012 as Wallenberg Year and to set up a Commemorative Committee. This anniversary is a good occasion to draw lessons from the past, and to review, in their light, current human rights and minority issues, and to address the future and the young generations.
Hungary and Canada are the depository states of the Treaty on Open Skies; the 20th anniversary of its signing and the 10th anniversary of its entering into force are celebrated this spring. The Ministry for Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Defence emphasise the significance of the successful operation and the unimpeded implementation of the treaty on this occasion as well. Joint Statement of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Defence.