"I have never imagined I can be in such a wonderful study trip before!” – Ms. Tatiana Tarelunga, Chief of Development Sector of Soroca (Moldova) stated during a common dinner. Ms. Tarelunga was the member of the 13 participants-delegation from Moldova and Transnistria who visited Hungary for a study trip in the framework of ICDT’s Cross-River Development project between May 20 and 26.
After the workshops ICDT has organised in April and May, 13 participants visited numerous Hungarian cities, institutions and had some bilateral meetings with governmental officials. Delegates from the governmental, non-governmental and local authority sector arrived to the city of Debrecen on May 20.
On the first day – May 21 – to launch our study trip, the most perfect way was definitely to explore various historical icons in Hungary and enjoy the stunning views as we visited the fantastic landmarks of the part of the world heritage, Hortobágy. In the afternoon Dr. Géza Husi, Deputy Dean of the University of Debrecen introduced the University’s cross-border cooperation projects, titled „HURO (Hungarian-Romanian) projects”. Dr. Husi emphasised the importance of the cross-border initiatives and introduced some common projects.
At the morning seminars of the second day Ms. Edina Tóth, project manager at the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Hajdú-Bihar County introduced the most important enterprise developments in the framework of the cross-border initiatives. Mr. András Rákóczi, President of Kiút Association presented the most effective projects on the Ukrainian-Hungarian border area. Ms. Rita Ujhelyi from the bureau of municipal office of the city of Nyíregyháza talked about some development projects in Szabolcs-Szatmár county.
In the afternoon of the second day the participants also attended a seminar at the University of Miskolc, where Dr. Dániel Kuttor associate professor introduced the University’s project related to cross-border programs. After the University Seminar the study trip continued with a project visiting at the village of Boldogkőváralja, near to the border of Slovakia and the delegates attended a virtual fortress-visiting illustrating some moments of the Hungarian history. During the dinner a lecture was given by the Directors of the Vitea Foundation about the EGTC (European Grouping of Territorial Cooperation) projects (for further information about the EGTC, please visit our partner’s website).
On Wednesday, May 23, the participants were hosted by the company of Geopark in the city of Salgótarján. After a short introduction, they visited some key projects of Geopark (for more details on the Geopark program, please click here).
One of the most interesting trips that the delegates had during the study trip was the visiting of two bridges across Slovakia and Hungary. The Madách-bridge is a common project of the Slovak and Hungarian authorities as well as the bridge at the village of Pöstyénpuszta.
On Thursday, May 24, ICDT organized a bilateral meeting between the Moldovan-Transnistrian delegates and Ms. Lilla Makkay, Head of Department for International Development Cooperation and Humanitarian Aid at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Ms. Makkay as the head of the donor organization highlighted the importance of the Cross-River Development project and emphasised that this project was the part of the long-term partnership between Hungary and Moldova.
During the closing seminar at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Dr. Nóra Bella Ivády, Deputy Head of Department at the Ministry of Public Administration and Justice, Mr. Gyula Ocskay, Secretary General of our expert organization, the CESCI, Mr. Zoltán Bara, Director of the Pons Danubii EGTC and Mr. Péter Nagy, Director of the Ister-Granum EGTC gave lectures about the most important EGTC and cross-border projects. The study trip officially ended with the closing remarks of ICDT President Ambassador László Várkonyi.
To shortly summarize the study trip in one sentence, here is Mr. Alexandru Tinica’s - Mayor of the city of Ribnita – words: „the trip was no doubt a fruitful and unforgettable experience for me”. 6 days, more than 700 km’s in Hungary, 13 participants, and a great experience for our colleagues as well.
