Congressman
Tom Lantos visited Hungary last week. The only member of Congress born in
Hungary, he met with several high-ranking Hungarian politicians, the newly
inaugurated President of the Republic, László Sólyom, and Minister of
Economics János Kóka, among others.
Mr.
Lantos,
who is the ranking member of the House International Affairs Committee,
indicated that he was going to encourage President Bush to visit Hungary
next year in honor of the 50th anniversary of the Hungarian revolution and
freedom fight. The Congressman would also like Secretary of State
Condoleezza Rice to pay a visit to Hungary in 2006. Mr. Lantos also told
reporters that he would personally lead congressional events honoring the
1956 revolution.
He
stated
that the U.S. administration looks forward to the October visit of
Hungarian Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsány. The Congressman noted with
appreciation the current state of the Hungarian economy. He highlighted
that Hungary has received the highest amount of foreign investment in
Central Europe during the past fifteen years. Tom Lantos placed special
emphasis on the very promising upward trend that has characterized
Hungarian high-tech industries.
Congressman
Tom Lantos with the Director of the Hungarian National Archives, Lajos
Gecsényi, and Amb. András Simonyi
