The first state bilingual secondary school and gymnasium for Ukrainian children opened its doors in Budapest on August 31, the press service of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) of Ukraine said.

As noted in the department, the opening of the school occurred as a result of agreements between President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy and the Prime Minister of Hungary Viktor Orban, reached during the visit of the Hungarian leader to Kyiv in July 2024. During the meeting and negotiations in Kyiv, the President of Ukraine noted the importance of creating educational institutions for Ukrainian children abroad and received assurances from the Hungarian side of support for this project.

Long-term preparatory work for the opening of the school was carried out by the Ukrainian society "House of Ukrainian Traditions" (Hungary), which took responsibility for the management of the educational institution.

The educational process will be carried out in the native Ukrainian language from grades 1 to 12, and the program will include the study of Hungarian and English as foreign languages. The educational institution is financed from the state budget of Hungary.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba expressed gratitude to the Hungarian side for assistance and emphasized that the opening of this school is an important step towards the development of the Ukrainian world community.

"Ensuring access to education in the native language is a priority for President Zelenskyy and an important part of the new comprehensive policy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs regarding Ukrainians abroad. The school in Budapest will not only help preserve Ukrainian identity, but will also help our children adapt to a foreign environment without losing their cultural roots," the minister said.

The opening of the school in Budapest was attended by Head of Zakarpattia Regional State Administration, head of the regional military administration Viktor Mykyta, Chairperson of the subcommittee on higher education of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Education, Science and Innovation Yulia Hrishyna and Ambassador of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine for World Ukrainianism Mariana Betsa.