Since November 2023 and the announcement by the Defense Ministers of the two countries of a deployment of 200 Hungarian soldiers in Chad, a new language is mixed with French and English in the corridors of the large hotels of N’Djamena , the Chadian capital. . The Parliament in Budapest then defined the official contours of this military mission (strengthening the capabilities of the Chadian army and supporting the fight against terrorism) without making clear the modalities of troop deployment. However, the date of their arrival could soon become clearer, as delegations of Hungarian diplomats and officials increasingly travel regularly between the two capitals.
Meanwhile, Hungary is introducing a battery of development projects in sectors as diverse as water supply, prescription glasses manufacturing and camel milk processing. Projects financed, in particular, through a loan of 200 million euros, announced during the visit of President Mahamat Idriss Déby to the Hungarian capital in September. In November, Hungarian diplomacy even planned to bring together the special envoys for the Sahel of the member states of the European Union (EU) in N’Djamena.
“A key country in the fight against immigration”
In the background of this new relationship with N’Djamena is Viktor Orban’s desire to strengthen the fight against illegal immigration, which he has made his workhorse during his EU presidency. “Chad is a key country in the fight against illegal immigrationdeclared the Hungarian Prime Minister in his account X at the end of the Chadian president’s visit. Migration from Africa to Europe cannot be stopped without the Sahel States. »
Budapest’s first intention was to start this fight from Niger, but the July 2023 coup against President Mohamed Bazoum prompted it to head to N’Djamena. However, Chad is neither a departure country nor a major transit country for migrants from sub-Saharan Africa, but Hungary considers it a pole of stability that allows them to expand in the region.
Although they often oppose each other on European issues, the Hungarian analysis converges here with that of France, which, after the expulsion of its soldiers from Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger, wants to avoid at all costs the destabilization of its last ally in the Sahel. . .
The arrival of this new actor initially aroused evident distrust in Western foreign ministries due to the proximity between Viktor Orban and Russian President Vladimir Putin, in a context in which Russia continues to expand its influence in the region. “It is simply absurd that Hungary can represent the interests of Russia or any other country in the Sahel”answered on his account X Mathé Laszlo Eduard, Hungary’s special envoy for the region.
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