Csaba Demcsák, Hungary’s ambassador to Zagreb, presented the Hungarian state’s Order of Merit, Officer’s Cross, to Zvonko Milas, the president of the Office of Croatians Beyond the Borders and the co-chair of the Hungarian-Croatian mixed committee for minorities, in Zagreb on Tuesday. At the ceremony in the Liszt Institute, the ambassador said that the state honour was awarded by Hungarian President Katalin Novák in recognition of Milas’ achievements as the mixed committee’s co-chair. Radován Rusz, Hungary’s consul general to Zagreb, said that Milas considers caring for the members of Croatian communities abroad not only his duty but “a cause he supports from the bottom of his heart”. Accepting the award, Milas said he was honoured to receive it which would be an inspiration for him to continue his work for the two countries and their respective minorities.
In the laudation, it was noted that serving as the Croatian co-chair of the mixed committee since 2017, Milas has facilitated a successful partnership cooperation with Ferenc Kalmár, the committee’s other chair for Hungary. Milas played a major role as state secretary in the presentation of the mixed committee’s work as a European best practice at OSCE events in Vienna and during the Hungarian presidency of the Council of Europe which had the protection of minorities and the promotion of their rights as one of the priorities.