Hungarian
Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsány visited the United States between
October 4-8, 2005. He met with President Bush on October 7 and Secretary
of State Condoleezza Rice on October 6. He also met with Senator Bill
Frist, as well as Congressmen Dennis Hastert and Tom Lantos on Capitol
Hill.
At
the cordial meeting between President Bush and Prime Minister Gyurcsány,
the two leaders reiterated their countries' close friendship and strong
alliance. President Bush thanked Gyurcsány for Hungary's
contribution in Afghanistan and Iraq. Regarding the U.S. visa policy
toward Hungary, the President promised his Hungarian partner that a
roadmap would be set up for reviewing current procedures and rules.
The
Prime Minister extended an invitation to President Bush to attend the
50th anniversary celebrations of the 1956 Hungarian revolution next
October in Budapest. The President said he would like to go should
his schedule allow. President Bush congratulated the PM on the
excellent state of the Hungarian economy and referred to the high level
of American investment in Hungary. Prime Minister Gyurcsány
informed President Bush about the latest developments on the
International Center for Democratic Transition in Budapest. The
President said he believed the Center could strongly contribute to
helping emerging democracies learn from the experiences of recent
transitions.
The
Prime Minister met with Senate Republican Majority Leader Dr. Bill Frist
accompanied by Senator Richard Lugar, Chairman of the Senate Foreign
Relations Committee, and other Senators, on October 6. Senator
Frist, at the meeting and in his speech on the Senate floor later that
afternoon, expressed his appreciation for Hungary's smooth transition to
a parliamentary democracy, its accession to NATO and the European Union,
its contribution to U.S.-led missions in Afghanistan, Iraq, and the
Balkans, and its efforts to foster democracy and freedom in the world.
Prime
Minister Gyurcsány laid wreaths at the tomb of the unknown soldier in
Arlington National Cemetery on October 7, and at the busts of Hungarian
statesman and freedom fighter Lajos (Louis) Kossuth and Swedish diplomat
Raoul Wallenberg in the Capitol Rotunda on October 6, the day Hungary
traditionally remembers the martyrs of the 1848 revolution in which
Kossuth played a leading part.
The
Prime Minister held discussions with UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan in
New York. He met with leading American businesspeople at the Links Club
in New York, and at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in Washington. He
awarded official decorations to Admiral Edmund P. Giambastiani, Jr.,
Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff; as well as to notable
Hungarian Americans Peter Lax, the winner of this year's Abel Prize in
mathematics; financial advisor George Kendall; Miklos Vasarhelyi, a
researcher in artificial intelligence; and Gabor Garai, attorney and
Honorary Consul of Hungary in Boston.
Prime
Minister Gyurcsány visited Park East Synagogue in New York at the
invitation of Rabbi Arthur Schneier to attend a service in celebration
of the Jewish New Year. In Washington, DC, the PM visited the
Holocaust Memorial Museum. Gyurcsány was deeply moved by what he
had seen in the Museum and said "there is always a choice between
moral and immoral, humane and inhumane. Hungary has chosen
democracy and freedom. We know what we have to do, and we will do
it."
Ambassador
András Simonyi hosted a dinner and a reception in honor of the Prime
Minister attended by such notabilities as former Secretary of State
Madeleine Albright, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Peter
Pace, Secretary of Commerce Carlos Gutierrez, Undersecretary of Defense
Eric Edelmann, civil rights activist and former Clinton advisor Vernon
Jordan, former U.S. Ambassador to Hungary Nancy Goodman Brinker,
President of CSIS John Hamre, Hungarian American businessman Charles
Simonyi, President of the Washington National Opera Micheal Sonnenreich,
Professor of John Hopkins University Charles Gati, former National
Security Advisor General Brent Scowcroft, Hollywood movie producer Andy
Vajna, Founder and President of Kessler Group Howard Kessler, and Deputy
Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Europe Eric Stewart.
The
Prime Minister spoke about trans-Atlantic relations at the Council on
Foreign Relations in New York and at George Washington University in
Washington, DC. GWU President Stephen Trachtenberg awarded the Prime
Minister the President's Medal for his leadership and commitment to
democracy and freedom.
During
the Prime Minister's visit, Hungarian Defense Minister Ferenc Juhász
met with Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld. At the meeting, Rumsfeld
and Juhász discussed their countries' cooperation in the global war on
terror.
The
wife of the Prime Minister, Klára Dobrev, met with First Lady Laura
Bush at the White House on October 6. They visited Martha's Table,
a non-profit organization dedicated to fulfilling the needs of
low-income and homeless children, families and individuals. They
also attended a luncheon at Ambassador Nancy Brinker's residence.
Click
her for remarks by Prime Minister Gyurcsány and President Bush.
Prime
Minister Gyurcsány with President Bush in the Oval Office
Ms.
Klára Dobrev, wife of the Prime Minister, and Mrs. Bush visited
Martha's Table day care center in Washington, DC
Ferenc
Gyurcsány opened the new Hungarian Cultural Center in the SoHo
neighborhood of New York
The
director of the Cultural Center, Jakab Orsós, welcomes photographer
Sylvia Plachy, whose works are the first to be exhibited at the Center
The
prime minister presented state decorations at a Yale Club ceremony to Peter Lax,
George Kendall and Miklos Vasarhelyi, here flanked by U.S. ambassador to
Hungary Herbert Walker and Ambassador Simonyi
The
prime minister laid a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in
Arlington national Cemetery
Ferenc
Gyurcsány presented a Hungarian state decoration to Admiral
Giambastiani, Vice Chairman of the
Joint Chiefs of Staff
The
prime minister presenting a state decoration to Gabor Garai, Hungary's
honorary consul in Boston
(With
the exception of photo at GWU, all photos are by Miklós Déri)
