On June 12, Foreign Minister János Martonyi received Tomicah Tillemann, the grandson of late Congressman Tom Lantos, who serves as the Senior Advisor for Civil Society and Emerging Democracies to Secretary of State John Kerry. Mr. Tillemann was invited to Budapest by the Tom Lantos Institute to hold the first of a series of public lectures focusing on human rights.
Hungary is determined to repay the IMF loan taken out in 2008 until 2014 at the latest; Minister for National Economy Mihály Varga said in Budapest at a presentation held within the framework of the Fidesz programme entitled Hungary is Doing Better.
The Government adopted the National Research, Development and Innovation Strategy for 2014-2020, Minister of State for Economic Strategy Zoltán Cséfalvay announced.
On June 7, the Hungarian Ministry of Foreign Affairs hosted a workshop entitled „The Road to Seoul: Inviting Africa to Take Part in Cyber Security”, as part of the Africa Forum taking place in Budapest. The workshop was attended by representatives from several, mainly African countries, the EU, NGOs and enterprises.
The Ministry for National Economy is launching two new employment programmes: the Road to Your Job ("Út a szakmaválasztáshoz") scheme assists young people with social disadvantages in finding a profession, and another programme will help local governments to employ students during the summer vacation period.
The increasing importance of cooperation between the government and the industry was emphasized by Mr Vilmos Vályi-Nagy, Minister of State for Infocommunication under the Ministry of National Development at the opening presentation of the Parliament of the Information Society on 13 June 2013. The Minister of State presented the main elements of the government’s infocommunication strategy discussed with the domestic small and large enterprises, multinational companies and professional representative organisations. The document specifying the main directions of fund utilisation and development for the 2014-2020 EU budget period will be soon published and put up for social discussion.
Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, Head of the Hungarian Academy of Science József Pálinkás and Rolf-Dieter Heuer, Director General of the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN), inaugurated the new CERN data centre, realised within the Wigner Research Centre for Physics.
The progress of the Economic Development Operational Programme (EDOP) of the New Széchenyi Plan was reviewed by a Monitoring Committee consisting of civilians, European Commission delegates and economic actors in Balatonfüred on 13 June 2013.
It is possible to serve one's country while maintaining friendship with others, and this is an ideal to which I want to remain true; so France may always view me as a friend – declared Enikő Győri, Minister of State in charge of EU Affairs when she made Officer of the French National Order of the Legion of Honour (Légion d’honneur) in Budapest on June 13.
Minister of State for EU Affairs Enikő Győri has been decorated with the French National Order of the Legion of Honor by Ambassador Roland Galharague of France in Budapest June 13, 2013. Ms. Győri delivered the following remarks after receiving the award.