Hungary and the EBRD will continue to cooperate in an active manner, Minister for National Economy Mihály Varga said, on the sidelines of the Annual Meeting and Business Forum of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) held in Nicosia, Cyprus, where the Minister also met with EBRD President Sir Suma Chakrabarti.

At the meeting with the EBRD President, Mihály Varga stressed that Hungary continues to regard cooperation with the EBRD as a priority. The EBRD’s activities in Hungary serve the mutual interest of both Hungary and the bank: for the institute, a growing Hungarian economy provides a number of business opportunities, while Hungary benefits from the fact that the EBRD participates in capital investment projects besides playing a role in traditional project financing.

Such a transaction was the purchasing of stakes by the State of Hungary and the EBRD in Erste Bank Hungary, which we see as the result of successful partnership, the Minister stated. Hungary continues to count on the EBRD’s participation in projects related to electro-mobility, energy efficiency, green economy, infrastructure development and the financial intermediary system.

The Minister said he believed more and more market-based transactions would be necessary, therefore it was a good sign that the EBRD had decided to participate, with HUF 40bn, in the corporate bond issuance of OTP Jelzálogbank.

The EBRD began operating in 1991, and Hungary has been a member of the bank since it was established. Since 1991, the EBRD’s net lending in Hungary has totalled EUR 2.955bn, with 175 financing projects concluded. Governors, on behalf of member states, have accepted the bank’s annual financial and activity report as well as a document on the implementation of the bank’s strategy in the period 2017-2019.

(Ministry for National Economy)