On 8 November 2018, Azbej Tristan, Minister of State for helping persecuted Christians and implementing the Hungary Helps Programme at the Prime Minister’s Office paid a visit to Copenhagen where he had talks with local politicians about freedom of religion and humanitarian issues.
Several of the Danish governmental and parliamentary representatives expressed their appreciation for the measures Hungary has recently adopted for the protection of Christian communities, and recognised the principle of preventing migration through humanitarian assistance on the ground.
The Minister of State visited the building of the Danish legislature where he had talks with the Folketing’s Ecclesiastical Affairs Committee. The committee greatly appreciated the measures adopted by Hungary in the interest of protecting Christian communities. The chair of the committee said she agrees with Hungary’s policy that, instead of supporting migration, the cause of migration must be addressed with humanitarian assistance. Danish members of parliament look upon the parliamentary resolution adopted in 2016 about the condemnation of the persecution of Christians and of genocide in the Middle East and Africa as well as about the provision of assistance for the persecuted as a good example as the resolution has elevated the protection of persecuted Christians to one of the most emphatic elements of politics in Hungary.
After his meeting with the leaders of the Alliance of Democracies concerned with the protection of democracy and humanitarian assistance, the Hungarian politician consulted with the state secretary of the Danish Ministry for Ecclesiastical Affairs, Christian Dons Christiansen who showed great interest in the work of the Hungarian state secretariat.
In the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs he had talks with special representative for religious freedom Michael Suhr and State Secretary for Development Policy Martin Bille Hermann. Azbej Tristan explained how the government’s migration policy pursued in the interest of European communities and Hungary ties in with the humanitarian aid programme Hungary Helps which seeks to help those living in crisis zones to remain in their homeland, and spoke about the ways in which we support the peaceful coexistence of persecuted Christian communities with other communities. The parties discussed issues such as the general extension of solidarity, and then consulted with respect to the coordination of the humanitarian activities of the Hungarian and Danish parties.
Hungary was the first in the world to stand up for the cause of helping persecuted Christian communities at the level of a government programme. It also demonstrates the government’s commitment to persecuted Christians that since October 2018, the deputy state secretariat which was originally established in October 2016, has functioned at the level of a state secretariat.