Between 5-9 December 2017, the joint delegation of Békés county and the Ministry of Agriculture of Hungary, accompanied by Hungarian businesspeople and experts, paid an official working visit to North Sumatra, the fourth most populous and one of the economically most significant province of Indonesia.
The main purpose of the visit was to renew of the Sister Province Agreement between Békés county and North Sumatra. The new agreement was signed on 6th December 2017 by Mihály Zalai, President of Békés County's General Assembly and Tengku Erry Nuradi, Governor of North Sumatra in the provincial capital of Medan. The Mou, which is valid until 2022, covers the following fields: culture and tourism, commercial and economic development, agriculture and forestry, education, youth and sport affairs, fishery.
The Hungarian delegation was present as guest of honor at the congress of the North Sumatran Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KADIN SUMUT) in Medan. During the event, Ambassador Judit Pach conveyed a presentation regarding the developments of Hungary-Indonesia economic cooperation and the Békés County Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BMKIK) agreed with its North Sumatran counterpart to enhance commercial ties on a regional level.
On 7 December, the delegation visited PT Inalum, Indonesia’s biggest aluminium producer and conducted talks with the management of Sei Mangkei Special Economic Zone (SEZ) regarding investment opportunities and managing industrial parks. The Hungarian delegation paid an official site visit to Indonesia’s biggest lake, Danau Toba, where the parties discussed the possibilites of how Hungarian experts could contribute to the development of the lake.
On 8 December 2017, a public lecture regarding the importance of local values took place at Panca Budi University, Medan. In the event, Andrea Antal, Director General of the Hungaricum Department at the Ministry of Agriculture of Hungary conveyed a presentation about the Hungaricum movement and President Mihály Zalai introduced the Békés County Collection of Values to the audience.