“The goal we must be aiming for is to make Hungary capable of keeping up with highly industrialized countries, no matter if in terms of technologies used in industrial production, a supportive business environment or adequately trained work force,” Minister for National Economy Mihály Varga said at a gala event in Budapest celebrating the 130th anniversary of the presence of Siemens in Hungary. “The achievements of the Hungarian economy in recent years enable us to set ambitious goals”, he noted.

“Our economic results, stable and balanced growth show that we are heading in the right direction; however, convergence must be given fresh impetus”, he stated. “We are laying the groundwork for this through our economic and industrial strategies, the transformation of the education and vocational education systems as well as the extension of cooperation between the Government and industrial enterprises”, he stressed.  Every actor of the economy, from small and medium-sized enterprises to large companies, must be enabled to make progress through new technologies. Large international enterprises operating in Hungary, which are not only followers but active participants of technological development and which are committed to their Hungarian subsidiaries, have a great role to play in this process, Mihály Varga pointed out.

“The economy policy we have implemented in recent years has also managed to  boost corporate confidence”, the Minister said, quoting the latest business sentiment survey by the German-Hungarian Chamber of Industry and Commerce which showed outstanding investor confidence, improving business outlook and highly upbeat perceptions of the current economic situation. Mihály Varga also stressed that Germany was Hungary’s number one trade partner, and “German large enterprises were having a substantial effect on our economic progress due both their weight and the high level of technological development” they were representing.

Siemens has been a respected strategic partner for Hungary and one of the largest Germany-based investors.

(Ministry for National Economy)