Speaker holds talks with Congressional leaders in Washington

Washington, September 23 (MTI) - Speaker of Parliament Katalin Szili discussed a planned democracy centre in Hungary and U.S. visa policy towards Hungary during her talks with Congress leaders in Washington on Wednesday.

The American side has promised to provide financial assistance for the proposed democracy centre to be set up in Hungary, Szili told Hungarian reporters on Wednesday evening local time.

The centre could help Hungary play a stabilising role in the region, she said, while western Balkan countries now on the road to democracy could benefit from Hungary's experiences gained since the change in political system.

Szili told her partners Hungary would like to receive the same treatment as the older European Union member states as regards American visa policy. She was told that progress on this issue could only be made after the U.S. elections.

The speaker held talks with House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi, Chairman of the House International Relations Committee Henry Hyde, Jane Harman, ranking Minority Member on the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence and Tom Lantos, ranking Democrat on the House International Relations Committee.