Ohio, Hungary sign deal pledging economic co-operation

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Ohio and Hungary have struck up a partnership aimed at strengthening economic, technological and commercial co-operation.

Ohio Development Services Director Lydia Mihalik (mih-HAY’-lihk) and Hungary’s minister of foreign affairs and trade, H.E. Péter Szijjártó (zy-JAR’-doh), recently signed a memorandum of understanding. The document pledges broader economic co-operation between the parties.

Mihalik said the partnership goes beyond trade, which totalled $186 million last year, to shared ideas. Szijjártó said American investors are increasingly important in Hungary’s small but “very open” economy.

The leaders say 25 years of co-operation between the Ohio National Guard and the Hungarian Defence Forces laid the groundwork for the deal.

Cleveland is home to one of the largest Hungarian populations in the U.S.

Toledo’s Hungarian neighbourhood is home to the well-known Tony Packo’s Cafe.