Ambassador
Simonyi visited Seattle and Olympia, WA, on May 15-17, 2005. During his
first visit to Washington State, he met with Governor Christine Gregorie,
Secretary of State Sam Reed, and Senator Karen Fraser in Olympia. The
Governor and the Ambassador both expressed interest in bilateral
cooperation between Hungary and Washington. The Governor was especially
interested in establishing close collaboration in the fields of education,
technology, and healthcare. With Secretary Reed, the Ambassador referred
to the good relations with Washington as one of the major platforms for
Hungary in the United States. Senator Fraser
and Ambassador Simonyi exchanged views on environmental protection
In
Seattle, Ambassador Simonyi met with Mayor Greg Nickels. Among other
issues, they discussed the sister-city cooperation between the Hungarian
city of Pécs and Seattle, as well as the importance of how great cities
can contribute to the development of technological cooperation between two
countries.
The
Ambassador attended a reception where he met with he local Hungarian
community. He praised the great efforts of Ilona Szablya, Honorary Consul
of Hungary for the states of Washington, Oregon and Idaho, and his
husband, János, for keeping the community together and spreading the word
about Hungary throughout the Evergreen State.
Ambassador
Simonyi also had several meetings with the leading corporations in
Washington State. He met with the executives of Microsoft as well as young
Hungarian scientists and engineers working at the Redmond plant of the
software giant.
At
Boeing, he met with Lars Andersen, Executive Vice President for Commercial
Aircrafts, and discussed future possibilities for cooperation. (The
Hungarian national air carrier MALÉV has a fleet of mostly Boeing
aircraft.) The Ambassador also visited the assembly lines of the Boeing
777, 747 and 787.
With
the executives of Starbucks, Ambassador Simonyi discussed the
possibilities of the 22-billion-dollar company's presence in Hungary and
opening the first Starbucks coffee store in Budapest.
Ambassador
Simonyi held a speech at the University of Washington, which ranks among
the top 20 American universities. He also visited the Jimmy Hendrix and
Bob Dylan exhibitions at Paul Allen's Experience Music Project.
Ambassador Simonyi with Governor Christine Gregoire
Ambassador Simonyi and Secretary of State Sam Reed
Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels and Ambassador Simonyi
With Senator Karen Fraser in Olympia
Ambassador Simonyi and Brent Heinemann, international
relations director for Washington, at the Washington State World War II
Memorial in Olympia
Hungarian names on the WWII Memorial
Ambassador Simonyi met with young
Hungarian scientists and engineers working at the Redmond plant of Miscrosoft
Ambassador Simonyi meeting with the local Hungarian
community
At the Experience Music Project
