U.S.
Secretary of State Colin L. Powell paid a one-day visit to Budapest today
at the invitation of Foreign Minister László Kovács to address the
annual Chiefs of Missions' Conference in the Hungarian Foreign Ministry.
Secretary
Powell's schedule in Budapest also included a formal meeting with
Foreign Minister Kovács, and a courtesy call on Ms. Katalin Szili, Speaker of
the Hungarian National Assembly, who presented the Secretary with the
Order of Merit of the Republic of Hungary, Grand Cross, the highest
Hungarian decoration for foreign citizens, for his valued efforts in
developing Hungarian-American relations. Secretary Powell participated in
a four-party round table discussion with young Hungarian parliamentarians, had a luncheon with Hungarian opinion leaders and met with Hungarian
students.
At
a joint press conference with Foreign Minister Kovács, Secretary Powell
expressed his Government's appreciation for Hungary's active
participation in the war on terror and endorsed Hungary's ambitions to
share its experience with countries in democratic transition.
Asked
about the U.S. visa regime in an interview with a morning talk show on
Hungarian Television, Secretary Powell said that the administration will
make efforts to ease the visa procedure, for example, by reducing waiting
time or increasing the number of processing facilities for the Visa
Section of the U.S. Embassy.
