PM Orban: Hungary Must Be Sharp, Fast and Smart

The Hungarian prime minister gives the keynote address at the prestigious international economic forum and is also joined by Gyorgy Matolcsy, governor of the National Bank of Hungary.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban speaks at a press conference held jointly with with Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev following their talks at the Carmelite monastery on November 20, 2024 (Photo: MTI/Zoltan Mathe)

He also said that there are no natural, geographical borders between Europe and Asia, and this natural geographical unit - according to the lessons of economic history - has also shown a natural economic unity, and has complemented each other well. In this region, the most prosperous areas of human civilization, culture and economy coexisted. 

It is possible to be modern not only in the West, not only in a Western way, but also in the East, in an Eastern way,

the prime minister pointed out, adding that the existence of Eurasia as a natural economic unit has been hampered by three factors in recent centuries.

The first shifted the center of gravity of world trade to the seas. This led to a completely different orientation, putting them in different parts of the Eurasian region. The second reason why the organic unity did not work for centuries is that the rearrangement led to the dominant status of Western civilization, and in fact upset the balance between civilizations in the Eurasian region and tipped it westwards. The third obstacle - and this is a phenomenon of the modern age - as to why the organic Eurasian region does not work is that after the Cold War the Western elites decided that they did not want to restore this organic unity, but instead to westernize the whole world.

Mr Orban stressed that we all feel that this way of thinking, this Western strategy, including Europe's strategy, is "invalid, unsuccessful and something has come to an end".

Liberal progressive dominance in the Western world is over

The idea is that the whole world should be organized according to the Western model, and that the peoples selected for this will be willing to do so in exchange for economic benefits and financial advantages. This idea has failed.

Liberal progressive dominance in the Western world is over,

the Hungarian prime minister stated, pointing out that

The states of Asia have grown stronger and have proven their ability to rise, exist and endure as independent economic and political power centers. As a result, the center of the global economy has shifted to the East, with Eastern economies growing four times as fast as western economies. The added value of Western industry is 40 percent in the world, while that of Eastern industry accounts for 50 percent. This is the new reality.

ViktorOrban stressed that

Europe is losing out on the changes in the world, and it could remain that way in the long run unless it finds its place in its relationship with Asia.

"If it is true that the next century belongs to Eurasia, we must notice that Europe is still unable to find its place in this context of thought," PM Orban said, noting that some Western leaders fail to see the significance of Eurasia, while others "see it but don't like it". The European elite is set up to protect the status quo, which could lead to blocs forming in trade, the economy and politics. In his view, if Europe cannot break free from this logic of protecting the status quo and shift towards connectivity instead of forming blocs, then the process of Europe losing out on the changes taking place today will persist in the longer term.

Europe must break out of this thought bubble and find its place in its relationship with Asia. Europe must understand that it is part of Eurasia and use this fully to its advantage, as that is the only way to be competitive with other power hubs in the world,

Viktor Orban underlined.

This year the Budapest Eurasia Forum has returned for celebrating not only the fifth edition of this unique event series, but the 100th anniversary of the establishment of the National Bank of Hungary, the central bank of Hungary, Governor Gyorgy Matolcsy wrote in his welcoming remarks. He pointed out that

The events of recent years starting from climate change, financial crises, a global pandemic and increasing geopolitical tensions taught us that the most pressing issues of our times are intrinsically global and can only be solved by "joint thinking" and international cooperation.

The title of this year’s Forum

Keywords of success: talent, knowledge, technology and capital

reflects well on the changes which have occurred in our economies in the past hundred years, while also shows the path to the future. 

Gyorgy Matolcsy stressed that the National Bank of Hungary as one of the leading proponents of enhancing Eurasian cooperation, actively promotes international conversation and the sharing of best practices. As part of this effort, the Budapest Eurasia event series were born in 2019 and it is a pleasure to observe that it is reaching a growing number of people each year as the outcome of their efforts and adaptability.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban speaks at a press conference held jointly with with Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev following their talks at the Carmelite monastery on November 20, 2024 (Photo: MTI/Zoltan Mathe)