Hungary FM: Government Shields Citizens from Europe's Economic Fallout

Foreign Affairs and Trade Minister Peter Szijjarto attends the inauguration of Bonduelle’s new investment project, where he emphasized in his speech that Hungary continues to enjoy the confidence of investors.

Hungary's Foreign Affairs and Trade Minister Peter Szijjarto (Source: Facebook)

The government’s stable and predictable economic policy protects Hungarians from the harmful consequences of Europe’s economic nosedive, as is clearly shown by the fact that international investors continue to place their trust in Hungary, Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said Thursday in Nagykoros at the inauguration of Bonduelle’s new investment.

Hungarian families have been protected Peter Szijjarto says (Photo: JAKUB PORZYCKI/NurPhoto)

According to the Foreign Affairs and Trade Ministry’s statement, the French food industry company expanded its capacity in Bekescsaba, Nyiregyhaza and Nagykoros with an investment worth around 4.5 billion forints (approx. €11.5 million), supported by 750 million forints (nearly €200 thousand) in state support, thereby helping preserve 750 jobs.

In his speech, Peter Szijjarto explained that under the project the company established a logistics hub in Nagykoros, which will direct its Central and Eastern European transport operations.

He highlighted that the investment has benefits beyond itself, since most of the dry goods and packaging materials handled there come from Hungarian suppliers. He also noted that Bonduelle was among the first companies to exploit the opportunities offered by dual vocational training in the country, with a significant portion of middle managers graduating from the Hungarian education system. He stressed that around 90 percent of the company’s Hungarian-produced goods are exported.

The minister underlined that Hungarian agriculture and the food industry are highly competitive on the international stage, with the sector’s resilience put to the test and proven successful during the coronavirus pandemic when no shortages arose.

Over the past ten years, 292 large food industry investments have been made in Hungary with government support, worth more than 1.5 trillion forints (over €3.8 billion), Szijjarto said, noting that this is part of the government's strategic goal for the country to be self-sufficient in food supply.

He added that during this period the state supported 60 major French investment projects worth a combined 430 billion forints (approx. €1.1 billion), creating nearly 5,000 new jobs.

Turning to global developments, Szijjarto argued that Europe has lost a great deal of competitiveness in recent years because even the simplest issues have been over-politicized and over-ideologized.

“Yet the recipe for economic development is not that complicated—it only requires common sense and taking reality into account,” he remarked.

In this European economic environment, the performance of the Hungarian people is especially commendable, because despite Europe’s struggles, Hungary has managed to remain one of the most attractive investment destinations on the entire continent,

he added.

He pointed out that Hungary has recently climbed six places in the ranking of a major Swiss economic research institute, making it the most attractive investment location in Central Europe.

This," he said,"is thanks to a stable, long-term and predictable economic policy focusing on job creation, investment incentives, and maintaining Europe’s lowest taxes.

He continued: 

It seems that with these in focus we are able to protect the Hungarian economy, Hungary, and Hungarian families from the most damaging consequences of Europe’s economic downturn. In the future, our focus will continue to remain on technological development, job creation and low taxes,” 

he said.

Finally, Szijjarto recalled that even as global capital becomes increasingly scarce, Hungary has seen record-breaking investment years. “Two years ago, for the first time, the volume of investments contracted in Hungary exceeded 10 billion euros in a single year, and last year we managed to repeat that record,” he said.

Cover photo: Hungary's Foreign Affairs and Trade Minister Peter Szijjarto (Source: Facebook)