Senior Fellow at the Center for Fundamental Rights Bryan Leib has recently come to Budapest, Hungary to take part in the Peace Through Strength conference hosted by the Center. The event took place on Friday, 28 February at the Lónyay–Hatvany Villa. Leib took on the moderator of the panel titled ‘Faith and Freedom: Protecting Religious Values and Fighting antisemitism in the West’, featuring Former US Deputy Special Envoy to Combat Antisemitism Ellie Cohanim, Director of Hungary Helps Péter Kovács, and religious freedom and human rights advocate Dr Paul Murray.
Leib is also in the running to become the next US Ambassador to Hungary, replacing President Biden’s appointee David Pressman, whom he had been often critical of during his term in office. So, in pursuit of his diplomatic mission, he met with some of the leading figures in the Hungarian administration, as part of a delegation of Christian and Jewish America First leaders.
Leib met with State Secretary for the Aid of Persecuted Christians Tristan Azbej. After their meeting, Secretary Azbej thanked him ‘for being a friend of Hungary and persecuted Christians’ in a post on X.
As part of the delegation, Leib also had a friendly conversation with another Hungarian State Secretary, Zoltán Kovács, who is responsible for Public Diplomacy and Relations of Hungary. In a Facebook post, Leib informed all that he and Secretary Kovács ‘had an open and honest conversation about the ongoing USAID scandal and how this has far reaching implications’. He also added: ‘The days of the United States meddling into the domestic affairs of Hungary are over. We respect Hungary’s sovereignty and are grateful to have such an amazing partner and ally in Hungary!’
Minister for Regional Development and Public Administration Tibor Navracsics of Hungary was also among the Hungarian leaders who met with Leib. The two discussed potential ways to increase the level of US investment in Hungary, and agreed to stay in touch in the coming months as well. Meanwhile, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Levente Magyar talked to the potential new US Ambassador to Hungary about how to increase the number of tourists visiting Hungary from the US, and vice versa.
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