“International energy negotiations and cross-border development projects are to be added to the duties of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Trade, in addition to which the Information Office will also be under the supervision of the Ministry”, candidate for the post of Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó said at his hearing before Parliament’s Economic Committee on Tuesday.

At the hearing prior to his appointment, Mr. Szijjártó confirmed that the fields of foreign affairs and foreign trade will continue to form a single ministry. The Ministry plans to continue facilitating investment in view of the fact that these days Hungary not only has to compete for investors with regional rivals, but also with states that are thousands of miles away, he said. He stressed that Hungary’s growth trajectory is heavily dependent on foreign trade processes and is particularly sensitive to recent developments within the global economy, the most important sector of the economy being the automotive industry, which produced a record production value of 8083 billion forints (EUR 25.6bn) in Hungary last year, he continued.

From among the results achieved during the Government’s previous term in office, he highlighted the fact that exports have broken all previously records in every year since 2014, exceeding 100 billion euros last year, with 294 major investments bringing in 9.8 billion euros of new working capital in the 2014 to 2017 period and a 50 percent increase in reinvested capital to exceed 6 billion euros last year. 132 projects are currently awaiting a final decision, meaning the realisation of this many new investment project could soon begin, he said.

He stressed that investors are no longer just looking for assembly line capacities, but now also regard Hungary as a research and development location, meaning investment promotion not only means job creation, but is also facilitating more technologically intensive development projects and research. Mr. Szijjártó said the labour market will be one of the most important factors affecting the economy in the upcoming years, and promised to facilitate employer benefits aimed at increasing worker mobility by introducing further tax allowances.

In reply to a question from the Committee, Mr. Szijjártó highlighted the fact that the Government prefers to avoid unnecessary conflict, but that it must react to unfounded accusations and must apply all possible instruments in the interests of protecting cross-border Hungarians. Hungary was not left to fend for itself when it had to defend the Carpathian Basin, as it took action together with three other European foreign ministers, he added.

He said the establishment of a suitable Hungarian commodity supply is of key importance, in the interests of which he promised further support to enable Hungarian small and medium-sized enterprises to enter foreign markets, but added that exports on the part of multinational companies operating in Hungary are also profiting Hungarian suppliers. Hungarian enterprises cannot only be supported through direct funding, but also by increasing their ratio within the supply market, and a country of ten million cannot exclude international corporations, he added.

Mr. Szijjártó stressed that the increased presence of Chinese companies in Europe must be accepted as fact, but where the required infrastructure is constructed is by no means immaterial. It is in Hungary’s interests to be a transit country and a logistics centre, he said, also noting that exports to the countries targeted by Hungary’s Eastern Opening policy have increased by 15 percent since 2014, while Russia has lost 7 billion dollars in export revenue as a result of the sanctions.

With regard to the future, the candidate for the post of Minister stressed that a strong Europe can only be built with strong member states, adding that Hungary would like to ensure a supply of professionals via modernising the education system, vocational training and supporting enterprises, not through immigration.

The Committee accepted the renewed appointment of Mr. Szijjártó as Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade with 10 votes in favour, 4 against and 1 abstention.

(kormany.hu/MTI)