JP/7/HUNGARY
JP/7/HUNGARY
A glimpse at a successful visit to Hungary
Gyvrgy Busztina
Ambassador of Hungary
Jakarta
In the course of her whirlwind tour following the Johannesburg
Summit, President Megawati Soekarnoputri arrived to the Hungarian
capital on Sept. 8. Her visit, at the invitation of President
Ferenc Madl, finally materialized after it was postponed several
times due to unforeseen events like sudden developments on the
domestic scene or natural calamities befalling Indonesia.
No wonder it met with so high expectations. Many in Hungary
still recall how Indonesia sent a leader -- the late president
Sukarno -- to Budapest in 1960. He was one of the first statesmen
of international standing to visit Hungary at a time of great
agony, just four years after the revolution of 1956, Hungary's
failed attempt to achieve liberty, ended in defeat and
frustration.
No wonder many saw the advent of the outspoken, independence
loving founder of Indonesia -- a preacher and world symbol of
non-alliance -- as a concealed sign of solidarity and a glimmer
of hope.
Times have changed indeed. Arriving in Budapest, President
Megawati set foot in a country that by now is an established
democracy and a market economy, a place very different from the
one her father visited. As the representative of a major new
democracy of Asia, she met much sympathy and high expectations.
All this transpired in her talks with her host, President Madl
-- a former lecturer of international law, and as such, a
statesman particularly sensitive to problems of democratic
transition -- and with Prime Minister Medgyessy, both of whom
expressed a keen willingness to be partners in realising
Indonesia's development plans.
The areas of energy, transport, communication, information
technology and agribusiness were defined as most promising for
working together. President Megawati got a detailed briefing
about what is believed to be Hungary's ultimate phase in her
European Union accession process, to be achieved in roughly a
year's time. Much was said about the experience of both country's
transition from dictatorship to democracy, and the review of
issues like decentralization, administrative and electoral reform
were high on the agenda.
President Megawati later addressed an audience of business
leaders at a lunch hosted in her honor, delivering a speech at
the Hungarian Academy of Science. Flanked by ministers Hassan
Wirayuda and Rini MS Soewandi, she called on the scientific and
the business community to put wisdom and prudence in front of
narrow commercial interests when shaping the future of our globe.
The event generated high interest in Hungary's dynamic business
community, as it got acquainted with the advantages of working in
one of the world's biggest single markets.
In fact listening to Madame President, the Hungarian and
international audience got the right message about a distant
country whose realities are not infrequently rather distorted by
a world media thriving on negative sensationalism. All this will,
no doubt, be followed by more Hungarian business people deciding
to take the long flight to Jakarta and to see for themselves.
A meaningful presidential visit is far more than empty
formalities and travel for the sake of travel. In the case of
President Megawati's visit to Hungary, a short and busy agenda
yielded what is the most prised item in the relationship of both
states and individuals -- mutual trust and understanding.
Hungary is a small country in Europe, but with much potential
and a clear intention to be Indonesia's useful partner in
business, her carefully listening partner in international
politics, and her committed partner in seeking solutions to world
problems like the issue of the environment. In all these areas of
cooperation, President Megawati laid the foundations of a new
understanding on the banks of the Blue Danube.