H.E. Dr. Csaba Demcsák, the newly appointed Ambassador of Hungary to the Republic of Croatia, visited the University of Rijeka Rectorate on Thursday, June 4th, 2020, where he was welcomed by Prof. Alen Ružić, M.D., Ph.D., Vice-Rector for Science and Arts, Prof. Ines Srdoč-Konestra, Ph.D., Dean of the UNIRI Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, and Ms. Nina Kolaković, Rector’s Office/IRO.
Ambassador was accompanied by Mr. János Dezső, Counselor, Director of the Hungarian Institute in Zagreb, Cultural Department of the Embassy of Hungary, and Mr. László Réber, translator and associate of the Hungarian Embassy.
Ambassador Dr. Demcsák expressed great satisfaction with the cooperation between Croatia and Hungary so far, emphasizing the importance of friendly relations between the two countries and the necessity to understand more than 800 years of common history. Arriving in Croatia in April, when the COVID-19 pandemic was at its peak, Dr. Demcsák emphasized the importance of stable bilateral relations, especially in the context of a pandemic that greatly affected the economy, politics, and education.
The meeting also served as an opportunity for further discussion concerning concrete steps after the signing of the Agreement on the Establishment of the Hungarian Language Lectorate at the UNIRI Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, signed at the Hungarian Institute in Zagreb in March 2020. From the next academic year, all UNIRI students will be able to choose elective courses dealing with Hungarian language, literature, culture, and civilization.
Although the University of Rijeka has signed Memorandums of Understanding with several Hungarian universities, Vice-Rector Ružić pointed out the excellent cooperation with colleagues from the Center for Translational Medicine at the University of Pécs, which resulted in a visit by a delegation from the University of Pécs in February this year.
After the official part of the meeting, Dr. Demcsák signed in the Book of Honorary Guests.
H.E. Dr. Demcsák graduated law and speaks English and Russian. For two years he held the position of Head of Department at the Hungarian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, and also worked as a counselor at the Hungarian Embassy in London.
