(L-R: Slovenian President Nataša Pirc Musar and Hungarian President Tamás Sulyok)
National minorities live in an environment of cultural and linguistic diversity, tolerance, and coexistence, and their values enrich both neighboring countries and both nations, emphasized Slovenian President Nataša Pirc Musar on Friday in Lendava, on the 50th anniversary of the organized operation of the Hungarian national community in Slovenia. It was also the 35th anniversary of the founding of its umbrella organization, the Hungarian National Self-governing Community in Prekmurje (MMÖNK).
In her welcome speech, Nataša Pirc Musar emphasized that it was a great honor for her to celebrate these important anniversaries together with the Hungarian head of state and guests from both sides of the border. She recalled that members of the Hungarian national community played an active role in the period from the Yugoslav federal state to the establishment of independent Slovenia, contributing to the consolidation of Slovenian statehood.
Over the more than thirty years of our relations, we have built a friendly relationship and a close economic partnership with Slovenia.⁰⁰The cooperation between our two countries in protecting national minorities is exemplary across Europe. The Slovenian community in Hungary… pic.twitter.com/SNrOQUBjH7
— Dr. Tamás Sulyok (@DrTamasSulyok) November 28, 2025
She emphasized that the driving force behind the MMÖNK is the people themselves: the work and commitment of several generations have enabled the organization to successfully fulfill its mission to this day. “I would like to thank everyone for their efforts and hard work, thanks to which we can celebrate together today,” she said.
In the Slovenian President’s view, the cultural and linguistic richness of national minorities is particularly valued in today’s world. Well-functioning, successful minorities strengthen both the culture of their mother country and their own identity, while also enriching the country in which they live, she emphasized.
Musar called the cooperation between Slovenes in Hungary and Hungarians in Slovenia exemplary. She pointed out that multilingualism, shared traditions, and coexistence across borders form a strong regional identity that benefits both nations.
She recalled that in 2022, Slovenia and Hungary signed an intergovernmental agreement on the economic and social development of ethnically mixed areas on both sides of the border, and the first results of this are already tangible.
“People of different national and religious identities live peacefully side by side in the Mura and Raba regions, while in many parts of Europe we see the opposite. That is why today we celebrate coexistence and successful cooperation with gratitude and respect,” she said.
In his speech, Dušan Orban, president of the MMÖNK, recalled that the half-century of representation of the Hungarian community in the Mura region is a rare opportunity to pause and review their joint achievements. He thanked the two heads of state for their presence, which he said reinforces the community’s faith in the future.
He emphasized that the political changes of the past five decades have created a legal and institutional framework that provides outstanding protection for minority rights in a European context, and he paid tribute to all those who laid the foundations for the current representation of interests.
Finally, he stated that the cultural richness of the Mura region and the hospitality of the locals are the internal forces that will preserve and advance the Hungarian community in the Mura region in the coming decades.
Via MTI; Featured image: Facebook/Dr. Sulyok Tamás
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