The Tenth Congress of the Hungarian Socialist Workers Party reaffirmed the party's policy of full support for the Soviet Union in international affairs combined with cautious liberalization and economic reform at home.
György Lázár replaced Jeno Fock as prime minister and Hungary was reported to be continuing its economic cooperation with the West—especially West Germany—in establishing more joint ventures and increasing trade.
János Kádár, the first secretary of the Hungarian Socialist Workers Party, met with Pope Paul VI at the Vatican. The meeting marked a “new progress” in improvement between state and Roman Catholic Church relations in Hungary.
The U.S. House of Representatives approved the granting of most favored nation (MFN) status to Hungary. Hungary thus was the fourth Eastern European state to have MFN status with the U.S., following Romania, Yugoslavia, and Poland.
Hungary and Austria signed an agreement on the mutual abolition of visa requirements, effective Jan. 1, 1979. This was the first agreement of its kind concluded between a Warsaw Pact country and a noncommunist direct neighbor.
