The National Competitiveness Council discussed three economic development strategies at the last two meetings, Minister of Finance Mihály Varga said. After a blueprint was presented in June by the Hungarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Council has now debated the strategies of the National Bank of Hungary and the Ministry for Innovation and Technology, he added.
Both the MNB’s “180 Steps for the Sustainable Convergence of the Hungarian Economy” and the MIT’s economic development strategy mention as a primary objective that the U-turn in competitiveness must be continued, the Minister pointed out. After the Council compares the three strategies, they are going to table further proposals which aim to boost competitiveness for the Government possibly in the autumn.
Executive Director for the MNB’s monetary policy Barnabás Virág outlined the scheme of the National Bank of Hungary. The document sets ambitious macro-economic targets for the year 2030, which according to the study would be attainable through the implementation of 180 measures. The study also proves that, in light of comparison with international statistics, Hungary’s economic progress should be based on qualitative instead of quantitative growth, and this requires higher competitiveness.
Minister for Innovation and Technology László Palkovics presented the programme prepared by his Ministry. This work analyses global mega-trends and how these determine the manouvering room of Hungary’s economic policy but it also examines the key trends observed in Hungary since the regime change, with special emphasis on the evolution of a dual economic structure.
Mihály Varga said that increasing the efficiency of learning foreign languages was especially important from the aspect of competitiveness. Among the proposals which the Council debated in this regard were the introduction of a student loan for learning a foreign language, and motions to promote foreign language camps and the subtitling of foreign films.
(Ministry for National Economy)
