“The number one task of Hungarian foreign policy is the enforcement of economic interests, and in the upcoming period we must strive to assure that as many investment projects as possible are realised in Hungary”, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó emphasised on Wednesday in Budapest at this year’s annual ambassadorial meeting.

In his speech, which was streamed live on Facebook, Mr. Szijjártó said the fact that diplomacy has been transformed to focus on the economy represents a unique competitive advantage for Hungary, because as a result the country has a global network available to facilitate its success in the global capacity-redistribution competition.

“One of the economic repercussions of the coronavirus epidemic is that large international corporation are reducing their production capacities. After recovering from the crisis, these enterprises will not be automatically reopening their facilities according to the same schedule with which they closed them, in view of the fact that the new global economic situation will encourage them to restructure their operations and make them more cost effective. This is a huge opportunity for the Hungarian economy”, he highlighted.

“In the upcoming period, we must convince as many enterprises that are restructuring their production that the best place for their economic performance and operations is Hungary”, he declared. “The country has everything at its disposal to be able to achieve this”, he added. The Minister pointed out that Hungary isn’t the only county that has entered the competition, but so have many larger and stronger countries, which will also be using political instruments during the course of economic competition. Mr. Szijjártó said that in his view this indicates that we are doing things right, and accordingly “we shouldn’t allow these attacks to divert us from our original goals”.

The Minister stressed that Hungarian foreign policy will continue to be founded on mutual respect, and that Hungarian foreign policy positions are not determined in Brussels, New York or Geneva, but are decided in Budapest. He also mentioned that the government will continue to practice a balanced and patriotic foreign policy, meaning that it wishes to attract the technological investment projects that are needed to assure the economy’s transition to Hungary not only from the West, but also from the East. The EU and NATO can continue to rely on Hungary as a loyal ally, but similarly to other countries “we are not concentrating our foreign policy field of view on a narrow area”, he stated.

Mr. Szijjártó told the ambassadors present that he expects them to continue to perform their duties, and to stand up for Hungary, the nation and the Hungarian people, with the same grit as they have done so far. “We will continue to bear in mind national interests in international organisations when making decisions, and will exercise our right to veto if something is in opposition to those interests”, he declared.

Mr. Szijjártó also thanked members of the diplomatic service for their superhuman and outstanding efforts during the first phase of the coronavirus epidemic, which contributed to the success of protection efforts. As he explained, it is not difficult to procure healthcare equipment in peacetime, but during an emergency, when the whole world wants to purchase masks, respirators and medical protective equipment, it is a true challenge. “The diplomatic corps successfully overcame this challenge, enabling us to provide the equipment required for the successful operation of the Hungarian healthcare system throughout the crisis”, he highlighted.

“During the first phase of protection against the epidemic, 185 aeroplanes flew back and forth between Hungary and China, importing 93 million face masks, 40 million sets of protective clothing, 800 thousand pharmaceuticals and 15 thousand respirators”, he explained. The Minister also thanked the ambassadors for their work in the interests of helping Hungarians stranded abroad to travel home. “We performed the largest repatriation operation in Hungary’s history, partly using our own transport, and partly in joint cooperation with other European Union countries”, he added.

“This praise relates to our performance to date, but it also represents and expectation that we must continue to achieve at least this level of performance in future”, he emphasised. The Minister explained that healthcare protection is now being followed by economic protection, which means new tasks for the diplomatic corps, and it is for this reason that he has not authorised the closure of embassies and the evacuation of staff. “This work is a special responsibility, which means tasks not only in good times, but also during bad times”, the Minister stated.

(Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade/MTI)