Medical Clinic and Municipal Office Financed by Hungary in Synyak, Ukraine

Levente Magyar, Parliamentary State Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, discussed the development of Hungarian-Ukrainian relations and the resolution of disputes with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha in Kiev. He also visited the site of a Hungarian government-supported service center in Synyak (Kékesfüred), including a medical clinic, a municipal office and a post office.

Levente Magyar visited Ukraine for the third time since the outbreak of the Russian-Ukrainian war in February 2022.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha (L) receives Levente Magyar. Photo: MTI/KKM/Király Márton

Together with Ukraine’s foreign minister and three other deputy heads of ministries, they reviewed the most important areas of Hungarian-Ukrainian cooperation. “This is a rich cooperation, despite the fact that the agenda is often dominated by disputes on certain issues, there is a lot of serious work going on in the background to continuously strengthen Hungarian-Ukrainian relations in important areas such as energy,” said the State Secretary. He added that

Hungary has become Ukraine’s largest electricity supplier, which is very valuable at a critical time when much of Ukraine’s energy infrastructure is in ruins because of the war.

The Ukrainian side has reiterated that it will ensure uninterrupted oil supplies from Ukraine, which are strategically important for Hungary, noted the politician.

The State Secretary pointed out that he had held talks with the Deputy Minister of Education and Science of Ukraine, with whom they have been working for years to resolve issues related to the educational situation of Hungarians in Transcarpathia.

There have been certain legal restrictions, which Budapest could not ignore, he underlined. They are working on solving the problems, there are partial results, no breakthroughs have been achieved yet,

but substantial progress can be expected, which may lead to the situation where the minority issue will no longer hinder the progress of relations,

emphasized the State Secretary.

FactHungary Today has reported several times on the deprivation of rights of the Hungarian minority living in Ukraine. For instance, the Ukrainian education law takes away the right and opportunity for Hungarian minority students to study in their mother tongue. In addition, for example, at a minority school Mukachevo (Munkács), in a wave of anti-Hungarian actions in Ukraine, the Ukrainian police removed Hungarian flags from several public institutions based on a decree, and István Schink, principal of Francis II Rákóczi High School, was dismissed overnight without explanation. However, Schink has been reinstated since as he has won the case at third instance: the court ruled that he was unlawfully dismissed and will be reinstated as principal.

Levente Magyar added that they also discussed how to improve transport links from Ukraine via Hungary to the European Union. This is a crucial issue for Ukraine, as the war has closed the routes to the East and the total restriction of air traffic has increased the quality and permeability of road infrastructure. It is important that Hungary, as one of the most significant routes for Ukraine towards Western Europe, carries out the developments that can further expand these channels.

They discussed the development of railways and joint motorways, the opening of new border crossings, the improvement of existing ones and the extension of their opening hours. This comprehensive package requires direct EU funding, as it will be a billion-euro program.

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The State Secretary also visited the site of a a service center, including a medical clinic, municipal offices and a post office, in the settlement of Synyak in Kiev County, supported by the Hungarian government. He stressed at the handover ceremony that

the investment of EUR 2 million was completed in a relatively short time, and that it could be a model project even in domestic conditions.

Photo: MTI/Király Márton

He added that Hungary is carrying out the largest humanitarian operation in its history to help Ukraine, opening the country’s doors to refugees and providing aid to rebuild institutions that were severely damaged or destroyed in the fighting.

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Via MTI; Featured image via MTI/KKM/Király Márton

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