Dear Visitor,

Welcome to the website of the Embassy of the Republic of Hungary in Washington, D.C. As the ambassador of Hungary to the United States, I encourage you to navigate through these pages, where you will find useful information about Hungary based on your interest in business, tourism, culture, politics art and more.

I assumed the post of ambassador in late January and presented my letter of credence to President Barack Obama on February 23.  In a way, this is a homecoming for me, since I spent close to 25 years in Washington when I was working for the International Monetary Fund. As ambassador, I have the firm intention of helping Hungarian–American relations reach a level even higher than today’s strong partnership. I believe we can build on the achievements rooted firmly in mutual trust and the shared values of freedom, democracy, human rights and the desire of fostering the economic wellbeing of our people. I will strive to find new ways to strengthen the bond of friendship between our citizens, the investment and trade relations between our companies and the cooperation between our Governments. In doing so, we would like to rely and count on the support of the Hungarian-American community, who constitute a special bond between our countries. As Hungary seeks to redefine its relationship towards Hungarian minorities around the world, I will do my utmost to reach out to the Hungarian diaspora across the United States and in return I ask for your kind support, suggestions and constructive ideas in making Hungary thrive and succeed in an ever more competitive global environment.

2011 will be a special opportunity for Hungary to reemphasize the relevance of transatlantic values in international relations. During the first half of 2011, Hungary holds the rotating presidency of the Council of the European Union. The primary goal of our presidency is to advance toward a stronger and deeper EU, capable of playing an active role globally. The motto of the Hungarian presidency is Strong Europe with a Human Touch. The priorities of the presidency include strengthening economic governance in the EU, steps toward creating energy diversification and unified energy market in Europe, roma integration and EU enlargement. Click here for a detailed description of the priorities.

The United States is and remains the partner of choice of the European Union. In these turbulent times, when regime changes can happen overnight, the transatlantic partnership has a moral responsibility to stand up for the values of democracy and human rights. The  preservation and reinforcement of these values is essential and fast-changing regions of the world are yearning for our help. Our common efforts to work together in supporting the democratic aspirations of peoples around the globe is our enduring joint mission We are involved in the peacekeeping effort in Kosovo, operate a military transport base in the city of Pápa and continue our NATO mission in Afghanistan. The job, however, is far from being done: the Western Balkans and Eastern Europe need our continued attention and support to overcome decades of turmoil and to ensure smooth transition to the transatlantic community. This is why we strongly support the admission of Croatia to the EU as soon as possible and  the accession of Romania and Bulgaria to the Schengen zone.

The Government of Hungary has worked very hard in the past months to assure a new take-off of the Hungarian economy following the global economic downturn. Elements of this effort include steps to help small and medium sized enterprises, boost labor supply through reducing the personal income tax, reduce the administrative burden on the economy and cut government spending, initiate structural reforms in areas like education, health care, social benefits and public transportation that will help maintain sound fiscal situation and improve the competitiveness of the economy. These efforts will bring down the government debt to more sustainable levels. We are building a modern and self-confident country and I trust that Hungary will now return to growth and regain the confidence of investors and business partners.

During the Hungarian EU Presidency, as well as in its aftermath, I invite you to enjoy Hungarian art and culture through the yearlong series of events at the Embassy, as well as to join me in developing and strengthening political and business ties between Hungary and the United States. Our plan is to inform you regularly about issues that are of interest or concern to you regarding developments in the Hungarian-American relations. 

                                                                                         Dr. György Szapáry

For the Ambassador's CV, click here