“Hungarian state aid will this year again be making it possible for seven hundred Ukrainian children, whose fathers died or were wounded in the armed conflict in the Donets Basin, to vacation in Hungary together with a companion”, Minister of State for Churches, Minorities and Civil Affairs Miklós Soltész announced on Friday in Kiev at a press conference held jointly with Ukrainian Deputy Minister for Social Policy Natalya Fedorovich.
It was also announced at the press conference that Hungary would this year again be undertaking the medical rehabilitation of 20 Ukrainian soldiers. Mr. Soltész told reporters that Hungary is also planning to send another shipment of humanitarian aid to Ukraine. “In recent years Hungary has sent 200 tons of aid to Ukraine in cooperation with Hungarian charity organisations, including medical equipment, pharmaceutical supplies and food”, he reminded the press. The Minister of State said he and his Ukrainian negotiating partner had agreed that Kiev would once again provide Budapest with a list of the country’s needs, in respect of which donations will be collected in Hungary and hopefully the latest aid shipment would set off for Ukraine in the autumn, and before the onset of winter at the very latest. In reply to a question from Hungarian news agency MTI, Ms. Fedorovich said the country primarily required medicines and medical supplies.
Mr. Soltész thanked Ukrainian charity organisations and volunteers for their active participating in helping the children of Ukrainian solders fighting in Eastern Ukraine to take vacations in Hungary in recent years, pointing out that thanks to this cooperation some 1300 children, young people and their companions were successfully provided with vacations in Hungary by the Government.
The Minister of State provided detailed information to MTI, explaining that this year Ukrainian children will be able to vacation at Hungary’s Lake Velence in groups of 40-60 at a time, in addition to which plans also include day trips to Budapest, similarly to previous years.
On the subject of the situation of the Hungarian minority in Ukraine, Mr. Soltész said Budapest is aware of the fact that Ukraine’s planned amendments of its regulations on education, language use and dual nationality are not aimed at curtailing the currently acquired rights of the Hungarian minority. “It is natural that if two nations maintain good relations then national minorities play an important part in that relationship”, he said “Accordingly, it is natural that Ukraine is not working against the Hungarian monitory with its planned legislative amendments”, he said. “We are positive that a solution will be found (with relation to the aforementioned legislative amendments) that further reinforces the good relationship between our two countries”, Mr. Soltész declared. The Minister of State assured Ukraine that it can count on the Hungarian Government. “Perhaps the saying that true friends make themselves known in times of trouble is also true here in Ukraine”, he added.
The Minister of State informed the press that he had invited Ms. Fedorovich to visit Hungary later this year, which the Deputy Minister duly accepted. “During the visit we would on the one hand like to show the Deputy Minister the children on vacation, and also to pass on Hungary’s experiences with regard to the reform of the social, aid and pensions systems, and the coaching of disabled children.