10 April 2015, Gyöngyöshalász
Good morning, Ladies and Gentlemen,
I have to apologise, but because we are in Hungary and we have many Hungarians all around us, it is better to speak English!
So, Ladies and Gentlemen,
Prior to presenting my ideas, may I just have two thoughts in English? We just have seen a presentation about the future shape of the factory, which is by itself convincing. But dear fellow Hungarians especially, if you understand the system of the factory, you can understand something about the future. And may I say that it will not take more than four or five years and the world around us will look differently than we know it now. Changes are not just deep, but abrupt at the same time. So if any nation would like to keep up with the competition, would like to be part of the game, the only way is to be part of that kind of modern technology.
Dear Fellow Hungarians and our Host,
This country was suffering under a communist regime for more than forty years. That kind of period was a period outside the developed technology of world industry. So now it is very difficult to get it back. So without having investors, and without having persons and families who are not just investors but friends at the same time, it would be impossible for the Hungarians to get back to the race and high jump to this new world which is just under formation around us. So today we welcome here a family which is not just an investor for the Hungarian economy, but a family which can help Hungary – and if I was able to understand correctly, do it wholeheartedly – to help Hungary to be part of the future modern industrial world in the forthcoming several decades. So welcome all of you, and we are proud that you are here, and thank you very much for being part of the Hungarian economy and the process of modernising it in the forthcoming years.
Esteemed Kanwar Family,
There is one other thought that I would like to share with you. We may have seen, of course, that everything here is about investment, square metres, machinery, profit and money. This is understandable, because money is what we all need in order to live – or to be more precise, in these days following Easter, money is one of the things we all need in order to live. But another very important question is whether the investors that come to us merely look upon Hungary as a convenient location, or plan to stay with us on a longer-term basis. Whether they come from somewhere which has a tradition of creating investments in another country and then taking them away from that country, or from a culture and background of traditions in which – above and beyond purely financial considerations – the quality of human relations, friendship and values in general also count for something. Twenty years ago, I would not have believed that I would see a time when, instead of Europeans investing in India, people from India would be investing in the heart of Europe. This, too, is part of the modern world, and is a promising sign at the same time. It is not always the front runners who win in the end. There is the chance for continents, countries, businesses and families to become so successful that they can get real influence, acknowledgement and respect in the previously much more developed West. It is an especially important, promising sign for us as Hungarians, because we also started with a disadvantage. Achievements of this kind, like the success of such giant Indian corporations, are very promising signs for Hungary as well, and send the message that it is worth working hard, it is worth investing and it is worth seeking business opportunities in the modern world. I am particularly pleased that our investors come from India, and that in the Kanwar family we can welcome an eminent Indian family in Hungary. I would therefore repeat: above and beyond an economy, at least as important is the culture underlying an economy.
Honourable Chairman, Dear Delegation,
I would like you to see in Hungary not just another business opportunity, but also an amicable country and a friend, and I hope that you will find friends here.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Allow me to cite here a thought from Mahatma Gandhi. He said: “The difference between what we do and what we are capable of doing would suffice to solve most of the world’s problems”. You could hardly find a more apt description of what we have done in Hungary over the past few years. In 2010, when Hungary was in a situation similar to that of Greece, who would have thought that it would be possible that we could succeed in forging such a degree of national cohesion that even in a distant country we would be noticed, and that they would believe that it was worth putting confidence in the future of Hungary? No one invests in a country which is on the verge of bankruptcy. Today, our guests from India are investing in a country which last year had one of Europe’s highest economic growth rates – a feat which all projections see being repeated this year. They are investing in a country which is committed to reducing unemployment to 3% – in other words, practically eliminating unemployment, and reaching full employment.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Five years ago, Hungary helplessly watched the world go by, while today we clearly have the ability, the opportunity and the will to take part in the world’s most technologically advanced production processes.
Honourable Kanwar Family, Ladies and Gentlemen, Dear Hosts,
Allow me to draw your attention to the thought we have just heard in the context of the relationship between education and employment. With some exaggeration I could say that members of my generation no longer care much. We are past our fiftieth year, and while perhaps interesting things may yet await us in life, we shall hardly become much smarter, better trained or more competitive. We are no longer the ones who will elevate this country to glorious heights. We can keep this country where it is now, and if everything goes well, we may be able to encourage our own children to become smarter, better-prepared and more competitive than us. To achieve this, we need good schools. And let us admit – even if we find it hard here, in the presence of our guests – that our present education system does not guarantee our children access to competitive skills on a par with the best in the world, so that through their hard work and achievements they can lift Hungary to the heights that we have reached so far. It is therefore a priority for us to modernise our education system. I do not wish to list here the numerous problems in the Hungarian education system, but I would just mention one: clearly the link between the actual economic world and its requirements and the training provided in schools is a weak one. Of course, we do not wish to completely subordinate education to business and economic criteria, because young people need general education and knowledge too, without consideration of economic interests. But I am certain that we must bring Hungarian education closer to the actual needs of business life: the distance between them that we see today is too great. Our children leave school with certificates, but we ourselves are not convinced that these represent any actual knowledge or have true value; we ourselves are not sure whether, with the knowledge and skills provided in our education today, it will be possible to thrive and succeed in the first, second and third decades of the 21st century.
We are therefore grateful to the Kanwar family for the fact that now, when they invest in Hungary, they do not just wish to build a factory, but are already engaged in negotiations with local schools. In connection with this factory here, they are taking part in – and, furthermore, laying the very foundations of – the education through which our children will have guaranteed access to useful, quality skills of the highest global standards. This is of the utmost significance. When you think about this project, I would like to ask you to picture the faces of our children, the faces of youngsters who, with the assistance of this factory, will become young people with highly-paid skills that can be used in any part of the world.
Honourable Chairman,
In addition to the manufacturing plant itself, we are grateful to you for also turning your thoughts to Hungarian children, the children who live in this area, by your participation in the training of technicians and vocational training in cooperation with us.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Perhaps you will allow me to share one other thought with you; it is about that certain magic number: 975. This, according to the documents I am familiar with, is the number of people who will work here. We should now picture the faces of 975 families. We are talking about the livelihood of 975 families. These 975 families either do not have job opportunities elsewhere at all, or have less promising opportunities to earn a decent income necessary to live on. We appreciate that the number 975 might not have quite the same meaning to Indians as it does to Hungarians, because the methods developed for measuring population numbers in India are different from those that we Hungarians are used to. But I am convinced, Mr. Chairman, that by Hungarian standards, for us Hungarians and the people of Heves County, 975 jobs carry a lot of weight. Your investment is not just a simple business opportunity, but also the largest investment in this region. An investment in the region – and allow me here to cite our talks before this opening ceremony – which will not only provide a living for some one thousand families, but will open new doors to the world; and, as you said, if we – Indians and Hungarians, the Kanwar family and the people of Heves County – prove to be successful together, our joint success story will attract further investors here and generate interest in the region. As a result, the investments that may come to Heves County may enable us to provide a secure living not only for one thousand families, but in time for thousands of families.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Finally, I think it is important to mention that something equally important in Indian culture and Hungarian culture should not be ignored during the course of this investment: mutual respect – respect for one another. I was very pleased to hear those who spoke before me referring to Hungary with great respect. As our guests may be less aware of it, let us admit this: we are a proud and stubborn people, and we must, of course, make a living. Therefore, we are ready to take on any job in order to sustain ourselves, in order to survive; but not every job feels equally satisfactory. We do not like to work in places where we are not treated with respect; we do not like to be employees in a factory where we feel that, beyond our ability to work, we are not appreciated for any of our other qualities. What I have heard just now was very reassuring, and I sincerely hope that this will be a cutting-edge investment to the highest world standards in which the character of Indian culture – which is rooted in respect – will very much survive and will match the tendency of Hungarians to seek appreciation and respect. I sincerely hope that this cooperation, this investment, will be realised in the spirit of mutual respect, and that our mutual respect for one another will lead us to success.
In 1926, the poet Rabindranath Tagore planted a linden tree in Balatonfüred. I have pondered a great deal on why an elderly man, who came to Balatonfüred to recover his health, would plant a linden tree. We are all familiar with Martin Luther’s pithy answer to the question of what he would do if he learnt that the world would end tomorrow. He said: “If I knew that tomorrow was the end of the world, I would plant an apple tree today!”. But we have always thought that this answer was rooted in European Christian – or Protestant – culture. Why would an elderly Indian poet, who came to Hungary to be cured, plant a linden tree? And then I learnt that, according to a Hindu tradition, whoever plants a linden tree in their later years will live to see the tree grow leaves.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
We are going to lay a foundation stone here, and Apollo Tyres’ most sophisticated plant to date will be completed here by 2017. We sincerely hope that we shall not only live to see the tree grow leaves, but shall also live to see this investment yield fruit, to the joy and satisfaction of both parties. Congratulations to you, Mr. Mayor, congratulations to the local councillors, congratulations to the leaders of Heves County, and congratulations to the Ministry, which has kept track of this investment throughout and has brought it to fruition. But above all, congratulations to our new friends, the Kanwar family, who, I hope, will find here what they came for, and will receive the respect that they deserve, here, in Hungary.
Welcome to our country!