“Hungarian-Russian industrial cooperation has a long history and the Government must regain certain Russian market positions for Hungarian enterprises”, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó declared at a press conference following his meeting with the Russian Minister of Industry and Trade.
Negotiations were centred on how Hungarian enterprises could become more involved in industrial activities on the Russian market, he added. Also discussed, was how Hungarian and Russian industrial corporation could achieve success on foreign markets, he continued, adding that this is important because the majority of sanctions and embargo measures do not affect trade cooperation.
Mr. Szijjártó pointed out that industrial cooperation between the two countries has lost impetus recently and is no longer as close as it once was, and this is not only due to recent processes in Europe, but, amongst others, also a result of changes in economic structure.
The Foreign Minister said one of the most important areas of cooperation was the automotive industry. Hungarian enterprises would like to make use of Hungarian funding to take part in the tender published by Egyptian State Railways, where there is an opportunity for the shipment of 700 railway carriages. The opportunity has not escaped the attention of Russian enterprises either, and negotiations to enable Russian and Hungarian companies to participate in the investment project via Hungarian-Russian cooperation are moving forward well, he added.
Mr. Szijjártó also mentioned the fact that a Russian company had won the opportunity to refurbish Budapest’s M3 metro line. It is in Hungary’s interests for Hungarian enterprises to also profit from the project, and fair negotiations are also underway in this respect, he indicated.
The two countries would also like to tighten cooperation with regard to supplying parts for the automotive industry.
There is high demand for Hungarian water management solutions in Russia and in future the Hungarian Water Industry Cluster led by Budapest Waterworks will have the opportunity to participate in operating the water systems of Russian cities, he told the press.
Mr. Szijjártó also spoke about the fact that Hungarian agriculture had been especially badly hit by the Russian embargo, leading to a significant reduction in Hungarian food exports to Russia. However, several successful projects are ongoing in Mordovia, Chelyabinsk and Rostov County within the field of food industry processing and technologies, the Minister said, adding that Hungary would like to maintain the current level of exports of Hungarian agricultural and food processing industry technologies to Russia.
Also discussed at the meeting was the case of Dunaferr, and negotiations are expected to gain new impetus following recent changes at the head of Russia’s state bank, Vneshekonombank (VEB). A solution must be found that is mutually favourable to both the Hungarian and Russian party and that solves the situation while retaining Hungarian jobs and preserving Hungarian heavy industry traditions, the Foreign Minister said.
The Minister also said he also told the Russian Minister of Industry and Trade that Hungarian oil company MOL is open to further cooperation with Russia within the fields of exploration and extraction. 6.5 percent of MOL’s activities are currently related to Russia, and this is an important field that we would like to expand, he added. In reply to a question, Mr. Szijjártó said that the Paks nuclear power plant project, which will guarantee Hungarian energy security and help maintain low public utility prices, was continuing according to the predetermined schedule and the Government had settled all matters with Europe’s institutions. The project was only mentioned in passing during Tuesday’s meeting and is moving forward according to the related agreement, the Minister said.
At the press conference, Russian Minister of Industry and Trade Denis Manturov said the tragedy in Brussels was proof that countries face common dangers.
With regard to the negotiations, Mr. Manturov said they had reviewed bilateral relations within the fields of the machine industry and transport and indicated that Russian not only has an interest in shipping Budapest metro cars and Russian technology to Hungary, but also in developing cooperation aimed at third countries that would enable the joint shipping of Hungarian-Russian technologies to foreign markets.
Civil aviation was also mentioned at the meeting, Mr. Manturov said, according to whom Hungary should also have its own airline and this is something that Moscow also has an interest in and a proposal for.