Finnish businesspeople showed a strong interest in Hungarian investment opportunities and economic relations at a business and innovation forum held in Helsinki on Wednesday, Parliamentary State Secretary László Szabó from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade said.

“We have succeded in showing the participants of the conference a new, more positive image of Hungary”, the State Secretary told Hungarian news agency MTI in a telephone interview from the meeting’s venue.

According to Mr. Szabó, the forty or so companies who took part at the event were shown why it is worth investing in Hungary, current results and future prospects, and sectors in which the two countries could cooperate.

Several companies showed a marked interest and the high level of expertise makes Hungary attractive to investors, although no concrete agreement was concluded as yet, he added.

Areas of special interest with regard to cooperation include green energy, waste recycling, biomass power stations, water supply and the management and handling of waste water, an area in which Hungary is especially competent, he continued.

According to Mr. Szabó, the Hungarian delegation at the conference included high-ranking officials from government bodies that are involved in promoting investment and exports, such as the Hungarian Investment Promotion Agency (HIPA) and the Hungarian National Trading House Cls. (MNKH), and from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade. Representatives of large Finnish companies such as Nokia and the Finpro agency, which works to facilitate the reinforcement of the foreign relations of Finnish enterprises, also painted a favourable picture of Hungarian investment opportunities for the Finnish businesspeople present.

The State Secretary noted that the representative of Nokia, which operates a research and development division in Budapest that employs 1900 people, praised the Hungarian workforce and informed those present that the company is planning to expand its operations in Hungary.

Mr. Szabó also held a meeting with Finnish Secretary of State Peter Stenlund, with whom he reviewed the current state of Finnish-Hungarian economic relations and the most relevant foreign policy issues such as the migration crisis, developments in Russian foreign policy and the situation in Ukraine. Based on the meeting, the State Secretary said he felt the two countries have very similar views with regard to a possible solution to the immigration crisis; both parties agree that the problem must be handled at its source.

Mr. Szabó also told the press that a standing reception to mark Hungary’s October 23 national holiday had also been held at the Hungarian Embassy during his visit, which included an exhibition by photographer Örs Csete comprising portraits of Finnish people, taken this August, who in 1956 had expressed their solidarity with the Hungarian people in extremely diverse ways.

(Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade)