Foreign Minister János Martonyi will pay a working visit to Washington on June 23-25, 2010, at the invitation of US Secretary of State Hilary Clinton.

Besides bilateral talks with his US counterpart, the minister will meet leaders of the Washington administration and Congress. He will consult with several prominent figures of American political, economic and social life, and meet representatives of Hungarian US-based organisations. Mr. Martonyi will give a speech at a foreign policy institute on the government’s major goals, cooperation in Central Europe and the priorities of Hungary’s EU presidency. During his visit, he will unveil a memorial plaque dedicated to Carl Lutz, a Budapest-based Swiss diplomat who helped rescue a large number of Jews during World War II.

The main purpose of the minister’s visit is to confirm the new Hungarian Government’s commitment to the two countries’ strategic alliance. The visit also seeks to strengthen multidimensional cooperation, and to demonstrate Hungary’s readiness to actively participate in meeting joint foreign- and security-policy challenges. Furthermore, Hungary counts on US support both for its endeavours to enact deep social and economic reforms elaborated in its national cooperation programme, and for the country’s foreign-policy undertakings.