The European Union must change its failed Africa policy, and instead of encouraging migration, it should finally focus on how to help Africans stay in place, said Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó in Brest, France, on Friday.
According to the ministry's announcement, on the second day of the two-day informal council meeting of the EU foreign ministers, the head of the department underlined that one of the most unfavorable effects of the measures taken so far is that the waves of migration reaching Europe have continued to strengthen in recent years. Therefore, according to him, it is time for a change, for the community to focus on creating the conditions necessary to stay in place.
He said that Hungary has already contributed to this with health, economic and military means. The government has so far donated 2.5 million coronavirus vaccines to African countries and implemented humanitarian developments worth more than HUF 15 billion, thus helping communities in difficult situations to stay in place.
It also provides more than 2,500 higher education scholarships to African students every year so that they can acquire knowledge that they can later use at home, he pointed out.
He stated that African people are needed in their country, because they represent the opportunity for advancement and development.
Péter Szijjártó also touched on the fact that the EU is preparing to adopt the so-called post-Cotonou agreement with 79 African, Caribbean and Pacific countries. According to him, this is "practically a migration agreement, the younger brother of the UN Global Migration Pact", which is why the Hungarian government will not agree to sign it.
"We don't need migrants, but to ensure that African people can stay at home in dignified conditions in their country," he said.
Source: MTI
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