Katalin Novák visits the Hungarian community of the Mura River Region

President Novák visited the Mura River Region on Tuesday to meet the Hungarian community in Slovenia. The Hungarian Head of State was joined by President of Slovenia Nataša Pirc Musar for her visit to the Mura River Region. At the end of the visit, the two Heads of State held a moderated discussion at the renovated Cultural Centre in Dobronak. The agenda included the situation of national minorities, the topics of the COP28 Climate Summit in Dubai and Katalin Novák's speech there.

Katalin Novák highlighted that as President of Hungary, she considers it her duty to represent all Hungarians, and this also applies to the Hungarian minorities living beyond Hungary’s borders and the Hungarians living in the diaspora. "Wherever I go in the world, where there is a significant Hungarian minority, I make a point of visiting them and conveying the greetings of the people of Hungary, as we are members of one nation", she pointed out, adding that in the Mura River Region it was positive to experience that as a national minority, it is possible to live peacefully and mutually support one another with members of the majority community.

Katalin Novák underlined that Hungarian businesses and economic actors enjoy support in Slovenia. In this country, the Hungarian minority is not seen as an adversary, but as a resource that contributes to the economy, the President stressed. Katalin Novák brought up the situation of Hungarians in Transcarpathia, who, in addition to the threat of war, must also fight for upholding their minority rights and Hungarian identity.

With relation to the climate summit, the President of Hungary recalled that there are those who are trying to dissuade young people from having children, arguing that such an attitude is in the interests of climate protection. However, the family is not the cause, but the solution to the climate crisis, and rather than keeping young people in climate anxiety, they should be encouraged, including to have children. Because who are we to protect the Earth for if not for our children?

Nataša Pirc Musar highlighted that both Slovenia and Hungary could serve as role models for many countries when it comes to the way minority issues are managed. She also said that monitoring the lives of Slovenians beyond the border is one of her priorities. When she visits Hungary, she always receives positive feedback from the Slovenians living there. There are no major problems there, the number of issues is small.
Speaking about the Climate Summit, the Slovenian President said that all participants were aware of the seriousness of the situation, as humanity is facing its greatest challenge. The Slovenian Head of State drew attention to the importance of adopting a different mentality.
Beforehand, President Novák and President Musar of Slovenia visited the recently renovated parts of the Bilingual High School in Lendva, followed by a visit to the Early Development Centre in Radamos. The secondary school in Lendva is the only bilingual secondary school in the Mura River Region and in the Slovenian-Hungarian bilingual areas. The new premises were built with the support of both Slovenia and Hungary.
As part of the Kindergarten Development Programme in the Carpathian Basin, the institutions of the Hungarian community in the Mura River Region received HUF 316 million in funding. Among other things, this money was spent on setting up a specialised centre in Radamos called ‘Early Development Centre’. The new institution is meeting a previously unmet need.