In the coming EU fiscal period, Hungary will spend EUR 2.1bn on R&D, double the amount received from cohesion funds in the previous period, Minister for National Economy Mihály Varga said at the opening ceremony of National Instruments’ (NI) Science Park in Debrecen.

The Minister pointed out that the Government increased R&D&I spending in order to enable companies to keep up with international competition. Over the past decade, he added, R&D spending was around 1 percent of GDP, but since 2010 it has been rising steadily. The Government is aiming to bring this indicator up to 1.8 percent or more by 2020 and this objective was laid down in the Government’s medium term economic policy blueprint entitled “Investment in The Future”.

Mihály Varga said he regarded it a positive trend that the share of companies’ spending within total R&D funding has been up sharply and therefore it is realistic to expect that the 2:1 proportion in financing, characteristic of developed countries, can be achieved in the coming years. The Minister also called it an important fact that the innovative products and solutions developed by NI – that are utilized by 35 thousand enterprises worldwide – are made by the help of Hungarian professional skills and of the knowledge that most of the company’s employees attained in Hungary.

Mihály Varga said that one of the main economic policy goals of the Government is to turn Hungary into a successful industrial hub that can hold out in international competition and maintain a sustainable growth path through which it can provide good living for Hungarian people. The Minister emphasised that the opening of the NI Science Park also proves that Hungary has managed to create a business environment that fosters economic growth and provides an optimal background also for large international enterprises active in the country.

This event is signalling, he added, that “despite the criticism targeting us strategic partnership agreements concluded with large enterprises are indeed useful. This day is proof that the commitment of large enterprises such as National Instruments does contribute to the fulfilment of our goals and the advancement of the country.”

Debrecen Mayor Lajos Kósa (Fidesz) called the NI facility in Debrecen the number one state-of-the-art innovation park of Hungary.

CFO-Executive Vice President Alex Davern added that the talented and highly skilled labour pool, high quality education at the University of Debrecen and the innovative attitude of the city were the factors that helped make the decision of building a production site in Debrecen.

USA Embassy Chargé d'Affaires André Goodfriend said that since 1998 US enterprises have invested some USD 10bn in the country and several companies active in Hungary have been seeking relations with Hungarian enterprises. The Commercial Service of the Embassy can assist these companies in finding partners.

NI Hungary CEO László Ábrahám said that the new innovation park is the result of a HUF 4bn development project which has obtained EU funding of HUF 2bn. Through this project, he added, 300 jobs of high added value have been created in the city. He called attention to the open lab of the park that awaits SMEs, startups and university researchers or students wishing to realize their innovative ideas and those who opt for using the Graphical System Design Control Platform of NI for developing scientific or industrial application systems.

(Ministry for National Economy)