The recent publication “Hungarian Foreign Affairs After the EU Presidency” has served as a reason for the meeting. Mr. Ádám Szesztay, director of the Strategic Planning Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has said that “in this publication, Africa has received much more emphasis and scope than ever before.” The study gives special attention to the Sahel region and Sub-Saharan Africa. It puts emphasis on humanitarian aid, agriculture, environment protection, health care, transfer of knowledge and experience in democratic transformation as well as protection of cultural diversity and values.
The consultation series between the non-governmental organizations and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs was originally initiated by the African Research Center of the University of Pécs and the Strategic Planning Department in 2010. The discussions were accelerated by the Africa Tender launched by the consortium of the Foundation for Africa, the African-Hungarian Association and the Anthropolis Association during the Hungarian EU Presidency. As a result of the Tender, a study called “Strategic Proposals to the Potential Development Strategy for Hungary in Africa” was completed (the study can be downloaded at http://www.ahu.hu/images/pdf/Afrikai-Strategiai-Ajanlasok.pdf) that shows parallels at many points with the ministerial proposals.
It represents the exemplary and successful common work and joint thinking that has developed in the last two years between the civil organizations and the government departments, primarily the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, dealing with Africa. The participants agreed that the “academic discussions” should be followed by realizing the plans. “We have expressed, summarized and collected all ideas that were considered to be important for the case of Africa in the last one and a half years. We should work for realizing them, let’s create action plans, let’s form working groups” – proposed Mr. István Tarrósy, one of the leading personalities of the African Research Center, professor of the Political Science Faculty of the University of Pécs. The topic for the next meeting will be exactly this.