“The favourable trends are continuing following the record performance of Hungarian exports last year, in view of which there is a realistic chance that exports will increase to 100 billion euros this year”, head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade’s Foreign Trade Department Rita Szép-Tüske said on Wednesday in Budapest at the fifth in a series of conferences organised by Századvég Economic Research Cls. on the subject of export promotion.
“The most important goal of foreign trade strategy is for Hungary to retain as many jobs as possible, to create new jobs and to increase its economic competitiveness”, the Head of Department said, pointing out that Hungary’s foreign trade strategy would also like to concentrate as much as possible on non-European markets, and the results of the Southern Opening and Eastern Opening policies are already becoming evident.
Ms. Szép-Tüske said that one of the priority goals of Hungarian diplomacy was to support the country’s export activities and exports by Hungarian enterprises, and to this end foreign trade diplomats are facilitating the foreign trade activities of Hungarian companies in 131 countries throughout the world.
According to President of the Hungarian Investment Promotion Agency (HIPA) Róbert Ésik, investment promotion also serves to directly develop exports, and for instance the automotive industry attracted 2.4 billion euros of working capital last year, and a total of over 8 thousand jobs will be created in the sector in the upcoming years.
“With regard to new investment, Hungary has overtaken every other country in the Central European region”, Mr. Ésik highlighted, adding that it is a favourable factor that a company that invests in Hungary is fundamentally not only serving its Hungarian partners, but also contributes significantly to Hungarian exports.
The HIPA President stressed that almost 18 thousand new jobs had been, or are in the process of being, created last year with the help of the investment promotion agency’s activities, and 71 investment projects had been successfully realised. “This puts Hungary in first place within the region, ahead of the much larger Poland, for instance”, he explained.
CEO of Hungarian National Trading House CLs. Zsanett Oláh said the company was helping Hungarian enterprises become capable of moving out onto foreign markets and becoming successful there with the help of a services package.
“Hungarian enterprises have access to a so-called Partner Portal, where they can find useful information on the country they are targeting and its markets. The Trading House has established a significant network both worldwide and within the Carpathian Basin, and in the upcoming years will also be attempting to successfully promote Hungarian enterprises on foreign markets through cultural and sports innovation products”, the CEO explained. “The goals for this year are to develop innovation and Hungarian-Hungarian economic relations, and to export as many Hungarian technological developments are possible”, Ms. Oláh highlighted.
CEO of Századvég Economic Research Cls. Péter Márton highlighted the fact that with a little luck Hungary’s GDP could increase to well over 4 percent this year.
Mr. Márton indicated that the economy had performed outstandingly in the first quarter of the year, thanks to industry, the construction industry and the service sector, parallel to which government debt is also decreasing, thus enabling continued sustainable growth.