President Milanović to Pay Official Visit to Hungary on Friday and Saturday, Including Participation in the Day of Croats in Hungary
The President of the Republic of Croatia Zoran Milanović will pay an official visit to Hungary on Friday and Saturday, 14 and 15 November. On Friday, he will meet with Hungarian President Tamás Sulyok at the Sándor Palace in Budapest. A meeting between President Milanović and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán is also planned.
On Saturday in Pécs, together with the Hungarian President, he will take part in the official celebration of the Day of Croats in Hungary, which also marks the 30th anniversary of the establishment of the Croatian National Self-Government and the 35th anniversary of the activities of the Alliance of Croats in Hungary.
Later that day, Presidents Milanović and Sulyok will visit the municipalities of Bilje and Kopačevo in Osijek-Baranja County, where they will meet with representatives of the Hungarian national minority in Croatia. In Bilje, a meeting is planned with the leadership of the Democratic Union of Hungarians of Croatia, while in Kopačevo the two presidents will attend a cultural programme at the Hungarian Cultural Home.
In addition to further developing bilateral relations between the two countries, President Milanović’s official visit to Hungary is expected to contribute to enhanced cooperation in the protection of the Croatian national minority in Hungary, as well as the Hungarian national minority in Croatia.
It is estimated that around 50,000 Croats live in Hungary. They have their own representative in the Hungarian Parliament and preserve their identity and culture through the Croatian National Self-Government, the main political and administrative body of Croats in Hungary. Their umbrella cultural organization is the Alliance of Croats in Hungary.
According to the latest census, around 10,000 Hungarians live in Croatia, mostly in Osijek-Baranja County. Hungarians in Croatia have a representative in the Croatian Parliament, and their umbrella organization is the Democratic Union of Hungarians of Croatia.