Japan has become the number one Asian investor in Hungary: there are 151 companies present, employing some 31 thousand people, and it is therefore no surprise that seven of them are strategic partners of the Hungarian Government, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó told the Hungarian news agency by telephone at the end of his first day of talks in Tokyo.
Economic cooperation between Japan and Hungary has become very close recently. Businesses representing the highest technological standards significantly contribute to the performance of the Hungarian economy. The 151 companies present have to date invested USD 4.4 billion (HUF 1,276 million) in Hungary, he added.
“Today, we have succeeded in coming to an agreement on the investments of four new Japanese companies in Hungary. Two are active in the automotive industry, one in the food industry, and one in the hotel industry. The four companies will bring to Hungary investments worth HUF 26 billion in total, and will create 400 jobs”, he said.
Mr Szijjártó reiterated that in the Central-European region Hungary has the highest exports to Japan, and consequently, bilateral trade relations, too, are highly successful. The volume of trade between the two countries exceeds two billion dollars. “In agreement with the Tokyo Government, we are urging the European Union to conclude the free trade agreement with Japan within the shortest possible time as this would open up further market opportunities to Hungarian products, for instance, in the food industry, but in other sectors as well”, he said.
“We have agreed to render ties between the Visegrád countries and Japan closer. Japan, too, takes the view that Central-Europe significantly contributes to European growth, and the Far-East country will therefore divert a large proportion of its economic, investment and trade attention to Central-Europe. When Hungary assumes the presidency of the V4 in July, we shall treat V4-Japan relations as an even higher priority”, he pointed out.
According to the Minister, in addition to economic cooperation, political cooperation is likewise very close between the two countries. Hungary has a vested interest, the same as Japan, that there should be peace and security in this part of the world because Budapest has important economic partners in the region. Japan and Hungary condemn the North-Korean missile tests which fundamentally jeopardise the region’s security in the most decisive possible terms.
The two countries share a similar view on the issue of migration as Japan, too, has an extremely stringent migration policy, and based on its national sovereignty as a key factor, Japan itself wishes to decide whom to allow to enter. Meanwhile, however, Japan is engaged in major humanitarian activities in the Middle-East where Hungary, for its part, is taking action to protect Christian communities.
The two countries may likewise rely upon one another in the fight against terrorism, they are both members of the global coalition against the jihadist organisation called the Islamic State, and agree that this terrorist organisation poses the greatest threat to the world today, Mr Szijjártó said.
(MTI)
