Why is Hungary’s Orban sending soldiers to Chad?
Al Jazeera
An unlikely friendship is budding between Budapest and N’Djamena with the goal of stemming migration to Europe.
In hot N’Djamena, an unlikely new language – Hungarian – is flowing alongside the usual mix of Arabic and French, signalling the presence of diplomats from Chad’s new international partner.
In the past year alone, Hungary has opened a diplomatic mission in the Sahelian nation, launched a humanitarian centre and promised $200m in aid. It also plans to send soldiers to help Chad fight armed groups.
The aid is a generous gesture from a Central European country that has had no substantive relations with Chad previously – but it’s also an eyebrow-raising one, experts said.
Hungary is one of Europe’s poorer countries, and it presently has zero economic holdings in Chad or the Sahel. There are also no Hungarian communities there.
However, Prime Minister Viktor Orban has stressed the need for Europe to befriend countries in the Sahel, where, he said, a toxic mix of armed groups and military governments is fuelling migration.
