Pope Tawadros II has on 28 February 2023 received at the papal headquarter’s in Abassiya, Cairo, Hungary’s Prime Minister Victor Orban who is on an official visit to Egypt. Mr Orban was accompanied by the Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó, and Hungary’s ambassador to Cairo Andras Kovacs.
Pope Tawadros welcomed his guest and expressed his appreciation of the excellent relations between Egypt and Hungary. He commended the Hungarian efforts to protect family values.
The Pope stressed the good relations between the Church in Egypt and President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi, the Egyptian government, al-Azhar Islamic institution, and all other Churches in Egypt.
He spoke of the support of citizen concepts and non-discrimination by the Egyptian State, citing the Law for Building and Restoring Churches, and the Cathedral of the Nativity of Christ in Egypt’s new Administrative Capital as evidence.
“The Coptic Church,” the Pope said, “is an Egyptian Church and is active inside and outside Egypt. We pray for wars to end, and for peace to reign in every part of the world.”
Mr Orban praised Hungarian Egyptian relations, reminding that the two countries’ diplomatic relations go back 95 years in time. Today, he said, excellent relations exist on the political level and with President Sisi.
Hungary’s Prime Minister said that President Sisi told him that Egypt had no “Christian minority”, but all were Egyptians first and foremost, Muslim and Christian.
Mr Orban said that he had visited Egypt in 2011, and he could see great progress in his current visit. He commended Egyptian Hungarian economic cooperation, and said Hungary was studying the prospect of establishing a factory in Egypt.
Watani International
2& February 2023
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