A new chapter could open in the relationship between Hungary and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Finance Minister Mihály Varga stated after his meeting in Washington with Kristalina Georgieva, the new Managing Director of the IMF.

The Finance Minister highlighted that while before 2010 Hungary was among the countries that needed assistance, today it is one of the European Union’s most steadily growing economies. We are therefore ready to help the IMF with the management of new types of economic challenges with the experiences of the past nine years. With the election of Kristalina Georgieva, the IMF has gained a leader who understands Europe, and especially Central Europe, and who is open to closer cooperation with the countries of our region as well.

The International Monetary Fund has significantly upgraded its earlier projections relating to the Hungarian economy, despite the fact that globally it continues to expect a further slowing down, Mr Varga said citing the latest publication scheduled for the annual General Meeting of the IMF and the World Bank which, in its assessment of Hungary, has increased its growth projection for 2019 by 1 percentage point to 4.6 per cent, and expects a 3.3 per cent growth for 2020.

The measures adopted by the government – thanks to which employment is continuously on the rise, unemployment is decreasing, wages are increasing, consumption is expanding, and productivity and the value of investments are rising – play an important part in the long-term preservation of the outstanding performance and dynamism of the Hungarian economy, Mr Varga stressed.

In the context of the forecast published by the IMF on Tuesday, the Minister pointed out that today even international experts regard our country and region as one of Europe’s most competitive regions. While they have upgraded Hungary’s expected performance for this year, according to the report, the economies of the Eurozone countries and Germany will further slow down, he added, highlighting that this contributes to the possibility that the relationship between Hungary and the International Monetary Fund could be placed on a new footing.

(Ministry of Finance)