Remarks by Ambassador Eleni Tsakopoulos Kounalakis at the Tax Treaty & Science and Technology Agreement Signing Ceremony

Parliament, Budapest, February 4, 2010

I am very happy to be here today. As a newly-arrived Ambassador, I cannot think of a more positive way to start my assignment.

I want to thank Minister Varga and Minister Oszkó for their support in concluding these agreements. I would also like to thank all those who worked so hard both in Budapest and Washington to finalize these accords.

These two agreements exemplify the strong and longstanding cooperation between our governments.

The signing of a new Science and Technology Agreement marks an important milestone in the rich history of scientific collaboration between our two countries. Hungary is respected the world over for its contributions to scientific discovery, and its long tradition of scientific research.

No less than 12 Noble Laureates are of Hungarian descent, and the ties between our respective scientific institutions are strong and vibrant. With this new agreement, we look forward to continuing our S&T cooperation with renewed energy.

Under the new S&T agreement our collaboration will continue in a variety of ways, including:

• Coordinated programs and joint research projects, workshops, conferences and symposia;

• Exchanges of scientists, specialists, researchers, information and documentation;
• And, the sharing of equipment and/or materials.

The 21st century will undoubtedly be a time of rapid change, powered by discovery and innovation. This new agreement will ensure that U.S.-Hungarian collaboration remains at the cutting edge of technological and scientific development.

I am also pleased that the U.S. and Hungary were able to conclude negotiations on a new bilateral tax treaty.

The new Tax Treaty will help boost cross-border trade and investment to the benefit of the citizens and businesses of both our countries.

The agreement today updates our existing tax treaty, which is now more than thirty years old.

It will continue the existing treaty’s withholding tax exemption on cross-border interest and royalty payments, as well as the reductions in withholding taxes on cross-border dividend payments.

The agreement also provides for exemption from withholding tax on dividends paid to pension funds, and includes new protections ensuring that the benefits of this treaty are only available to Hungarian and United States residents.

Since our current tax treaty was signed more than 30 years ago, the relationship between our two countries has grown immeasurably stronger.

Today, Hungary is an important member of the European Union and is a close partner in NATO.

Our economic relationship also continues to grow. Investment from American companies in Hungary has grown to more than $9 billion since 1989. My team and I will do everything we can to support this growth.

As I begin my service in Hungary I am particularly pleased to sign these agreements, which are both substantive and symbolic representations of the close relationship between the United States and the Republic of Hungary.