“In November, Hungary will be hosting the 2019 World Science Forum”, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó said at a conference on education at the United Nations headquarters in New York on Tuesday, local time.

The Forum in Budapest affords participants, scientists and politicians, the opportunity to discuss the role of science, and the economic, social and cultural aspects of new research results.

In his speech on education, Mr. Szijjártó highlighted the fact that the Hungarian Government is striving to achieve an education system in which school-leavers can find a job on the job market, which is being transformed by digital and technological development.

He said dual training, which already appears in secondary school education, is a key element of this, citing as the main goal to shepherd school-leavers towards the fields of engineering and information technology.

“The number of such young people has doubled in recent years”, he added. Mr. Szijjártó also gave a speech at the panel discussion on the handling of social inequalities, in which he primarily spoke about the importance of the equal distribution of burdens.

He said the Hungarian Government had introduced the basic principle according to which only people who work are eligible to receive state subsidies, in the interests of which it has made significant changes to the tax and social systems.

“This has led to a significant ‘whitening’ of the economy and to, in essence, full employment”, the Minister emphasised.

He explained that Hungary’s economic results also indicate that the old principle according to which boosting economic growth cannot go hand in hand with fiscal discipline is no longer valid.

“The Government has also made it clear that instead of immigration, a solution to European job market challenges can be provided through supporting families. And instead of encouraging migration, enabling people in difficulties to stay at home must be the solution”, he added, pointing out that the Government is providing thousands of scholarship places to foreign students from developing countries and is also aiding persecuted Christian communities.

In his speech at a related forum on creativity and ambitious thinking, Mr. Szijjártó highlighted the role of the automotive industry. He pointed out that this sector of industry is responsible for 27 percent of Hungarian exports and 29 percent of industrial output, and Hungary is ranked 20th worldwide with relation to automotive industry exports.

During his visit to the United States, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade met with Rebbe of Munkács Moshe Leib Rabinovich, one of the leaders of the Hassidic Jewish movement living in New York, in addition to which he also held talks with the leaders of local Christian Churches.

(MTI)