Giovanni Carraciolo di Vietri, the recently appointed Secretary-General of the Central European Initiative (CEI), made a courtesy call on Hungarian Foreign Minister János Martonyi in Budapest on Tuesday.

This year, Hungary is at the helm of the rotating CEI Presidency. The two politicians reviewed the current tasks of the Hungarian CEI Presidency and the issues that are crucial for the revitalisation of the 18-member organisation. The new Secretary-General expressed his thanks for the especially "rich and creative presidential programme and calendar of events".

János Martonyi declared that while compiling the programme, which includes 35 events altogether, Hungary had taken a cost-efficient and pragmatic approach. The Hungarian Foreign Minister said that after Hungary had also taken over the rotating Presidency of the Visegrad Four Group in July of this year, the Hungarian Presidency would organise a series of joint CEI-V4 programmes. The transfer of experience gained in V4 cooperation would have a beneficial impact on Central Europe as a whole, János Martonyi said.

The CEI is the largest inter-governmental forum for regional cooperation in Europe, with observer status in the General Assembly of the United Nations. It was founded in Budapest in 1989 with the aim of bolstering good neighbourly relations and cooperation in the region. Today, the CEI has 18 members, with Montenegro having been admitted in 2006.

(Ministry of Foreign Affairs)