“The next few years could belong to Central Europe; the region could acquire a major competitive advantage”, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó said in a statement to Hungarian journalists in Bled, Slovenia. The Minister will be giving a speech at the 15th Bled Strategic Forum.

In the statement, the Mr. Szijjártó explained: “The European Union is facing historic challenges because of the coronavirus epidemic, but the next few years could easily be about Central Europe”. He said that in his opinion: “The previously often attacked, but extremely rational economic and migration policies represent a competitive advantage to the region from the perspective of security, political stability and economic growth, that will enable us to perform more successfully than the European average in the next few years’ global economic competition”.

The Minister said than in his view an extremely serious competition is beginning for the redistribution of global economic capacities. “Large international corporations have closed many plants and service centres all around the world, and it is a mistake to think that these will be automatically reopened”, he explained. “Just as countries are under a lot of pressure, so too are enterprises, who are being forced to rationalise their activities and reduce their costs, which in turn is increasing investment promotion opportunities for countries that have been capable of establishing an investment-friendly environment with low taxes and flexible regulations”, he stated.

According to Mr. Szijjártó, during the upcoming years the competition will be about which countries are able to attract investment, and which countries can best protect workplaces. “As part of a Central European cooperation, Hungary is able to enter into this competition with great confidence and a clear hope of success”, he said.

“As a result of the often attacked, but extremely rational economic policy of recent years, and the regular tax cuts, Hungary has become one of the most competitive European investment destinations, and accordingly during the upcoming years the goal is to maintain the high rate of investment and for as many international companies as possible to bring their capacities to Hungary”, the Minister explained. “From this perspective, we are in negotiation with several corporations, which promise major success, and we will already be able to announce several of these investments over the coming months”, he stated. “These investments will place Hungary in an even better position on Europe’s economic map”, he noted.

“Hungary’s strength, importance and value are increased by close Central European cooperation, and the success of the region’s countries is also in the interests of Hungary”, the Foreign Minister also said. He had spoken about this during his meetings with his Polish, Croatian and Slovenian counterparts, he added.

(Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade/MTI)