It is in our economic interest that our productivity and competitiveness improve significantly, Minister for National Economy Mihály Varga said, following talks with EBRD President Sir Suma Chakrabarti.
The two leaders met in Budapest at a jointly organized conference on “Reinvigorating growth, competitiveness and investment.”
As Mihály Varga pointed out, the EBRD has been instrumental in assisting Hungary and the region’s countries to transform their economic institutions and tax regimes and to establish competitive sectors in accordance with the requirements of a modern market economy. Besides providing professional and technical expertise, the EBRD has given loans of EUR 2.9bn to Hungary since 1991. In the past twenty-five years, loan contracts to fund 173 projects have been signed, 90 percent of which financed private sector projects, he added.
The Government is expecting the EBRD to be an active partner in the realization of Hungary’s pro-competitiveness programme. As Mihály Varga stressed, the Government hoped that the EBRD would introduce certain innovative financial-lending facilities in the region. Along with the financing of traditional projects, the Government would like the EBRD to be involved in the financing of start-ups, a higher-risk category.
Mihály Varga and Sir Suma Chakrabarti also discussed concrete cooperation and investment opportunities: they have overviewed, among others, infrastructure projects related to Hungary’s bid to host the 2024 Olympics, railroad and underground modernization projects as well as fields such as e-mobility, the manufacturing of electric cars and buses, research and development.
(Ministry for National Economy)
