The government regards the American Chamber of Commerce (AmCham) operating in Hungary as an important partner which is comprised of businesses playing a significant role in the Hungarian economy, the Minister of Innovation and Technology told journalists after the Chamber’s business forum held on Friday in Budapest.

Introducing the tasks of the Ministry of Innovation and Technology at AmCham’s business forum, László Palkovics drew attention to the fact that, according to the government’s plans, by 2022 Hungary would spend 1.8 per cent of its GDP on research, development and innovation.

The Minister said that before the forum he had a consultation with business executives where the member companies of AmCham stressed that it is important to coordinate the funds available for innovation and research.

The Minister of Innovation and Technology highlighted that at the meeting they spoke about the situation of education, the management of labour market problems, and the issues of product development, research and development, and science.

Mr Palkovics said he encouraged the representatives of US firms to bring to Hungary not only production, but also product development.

He added that Hungary seeks to create a favourable business environment for investments, but to this end it must also supply adequate work force, product developers, engineers and business experts. He pointed out that Hungarian universities can be relied upon increasingly also in development.

At the meeting the parties discussed how product development could be enhanced at Hungarian small and medium-sized enterprises. Large companies need their suppliers to also take part in product development. It is an ever more prevalent tendency that larger companies give their suppliers product development assignments, and therefore Hungarian SMEs should have the research, development and innovation capability which enables them to take on such responsibilities, Mr Palkovics said.

The Minister highlighted that it is an important mission of the Ministry of Innovation and Technology to strengthen Hungarian start-ups. To this end it is imperative to find a solution so that venture capital should not only acquire stakes in these companies, but should also be present in their management in some form and assist their professional administration.

(MTI)