One Serbian, one Hungarian, one prize

The István Pásztor Award pays tribute to the political legacy of its namesake, the late president of the Vojvodina Hungarian Association, highlighting the unique and timeless merit that brought about reconciliation in Serbian-Hungarian relations.

The István Pásztor Award, which will be presented for the first time this year, was awarded to former Hungarian President János Áder and former Serbian President Tomislav Nikolic, the István Pásztor Foundation announced on Friday.

The foundation, named after the president of the Vojvodina Hungarian Association (VMSZ), who passed away a year ago, was established on June 12.

According to Friday's announcement

"the purpose of its establishment is to pass on the political legacy of István Pásztor, paying tribute to the results of his exemplary personal dedication and public work".

According to the explanation, the late president of the VMSZ with all his might

"he worked for the survival and development of Vojvodina Hungarians in their homeland, and believed in the improvement of Serbian-Hungarian relations, in achieving which he gained eternal merit", and the Hungarian-Serbian historical reconciliation - which is "almost unique in the settlement of relations between European countries and nations"

- It led to the development of good neighborly relations between Serbia and Hungary, which developed into a strategic partnership within a decade.

With the István Pásztor award, the foundation named after him

"recognizes the work of those who contributed to this, and who continue to build and develop it for the benefit of the Hungarian community living in Serbia, the Serbian community living in Hungary and all citizens of the two countries".

According to the announcements, the foundation annually awards the prize to one person from Hungary and one from Serbia, and the presentation will take place on October 30, the anniversary of István Pásztor's death, in Subotica.

This year, the board of directors of the foundation decided to award the first award to János Áder and Tomislav Nikolic.

According to the justification, János Áder, the former president of the Republic of Hungary

"for the achievement of historical reconciliation between the Hungarian and Serbian nations for the prosperity of the Hungarian community in Vojvodina in the homeland, as well as for the establishment of good neighborly relations between Hungary and the Republic of Serbia and their development into partnership relations"

will receive the award, while Tomislav Nikolic, former President of the Republic of Serbia

"for his timeless merits in achieving historical reconciliation between the Serbian and Hungarian nations, and in establishing good neighborly relations between the Republic of Serbia and Hungary and developing them into partnership relations, contributing to the prosperity of the Hungarian community living in the Republic of Serbia"

can receive the award.

In 2013, the two politicians paid tribute to the innocent Hungarian and Serbian victims of the Second World War at the Čsurog memorials, as the heads of state of their countries, with a joint procession and wreath-laying, which marked the first joint concrete step in the historical reconciliation of the two nations and initiated the settlement of relations between the two countries, which has since developed into strategic cooperation".

MTI

Featured image: Mandiner / Árpád Földházi