Government: peace in Ukraine needs the US contribution

Developing countries still see some 1.5 million deaths due to tuberculosis, he said. The efforts and resources consumed by the coronavirus pandemic also harmed systemic prevention, the foreign minister added.

As a result, the number of infections started to grow in Europe for the first time in 20 years, with the largest number of cases and steepest growth reported from Ukraine, he said.

In Hungary, the number of TB cases grew by 35 percent in annual comparison by 2022, he said.

Szijjártó said that growing case numbers were one more reason to put a swift end to the war in Ukraine.

Hungary, which has signed an agreement with the WHO to provide health care for refugees when necessary, is using various tests to comply with that agreement, he said.

Szijjártó also called on the “liberal mainstream” to “stop inspiring further waves of migration” as they pose health as well as security risks.

Supporting poorest countries ‘best way to ensure peace’

The best way to ensure peace and security is to provide economic assistance to the least developed countries, Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó said at the United Nations General Assembly session currently under way in New York.

According to a statement from the foreign ministry, Szijjártó said better living conditions in those countries helped reduce the risk of armed conflicts and further migratory waves. The Hungarian government has launched a country-specific development programme to assist those countries in job creation, as well as improving education and living conditions in general. Fighting poverty, providing new jobs, promoting sustainable security and helping people prosper in their homelands will all contribute to restoring peace and security, the ministry quoted Szijjarto as saying.

The Doha Programme of Action opens a new chapter in cooperation based on solidarity, fairness and mutual respect, Szijjártó said. Development programmes should be based on mutual respect without donor countries interfering with the internal affairs of receipients, he insisted.

Since 2010, the Hungarian government has raised Hungary’s official direct assistance by 247 percent, from an annual 114 million dollars to 400 million, or from 0.1 percent of GDP to 0.3 percent, Szijjártó said. He also noted that Hungary was offering over 200 higher education scholarships to students from the least developed countries. This year, the government has already spent tens of millions of dollars to improve health services in such countries as Bangladesh, Ethiopia, Laos, and Uganda, he said. Hungarian companies are also active in water management, food, agricultural and IT projects, he added.