At the Hungarian-Turkish Economic Forum in Budapest on Monday, Minister of State László Szabó said that international trade is a top priority in the work of Hungarian foreign missions.

At the event organised by the Hungarian-Turkish branch of the Hungarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (HCCI), he said that the Ministry is strengthening its emphasis on international trade by restructuring foreign missions through the introduction of foreign trade attachés.

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Mr. Szabó stressed that the background institutions now associated with the Ministry – the Hungarian Investment Promotion Agency (HIPA), the Hungarian National Trading House Zrt. and the Hungarian Export-Import Bank (Eximbank) – assist in expanding bilateral economic relations, including those between Hungary and Turkey.

Gábor Szőcs, Director of Eximbank, drew attention to its export credit programme, which provides favourable export financing to SMEs. The budget for the programme in 2012 totalled EUR 150 million, in 2014 it was EUR 1 billion, and it can increase further in the future.

Mr. Szőcs said that there are also cooperation agreements with three Turkish banks, including Türk Eximbank, with which an investment fund of EUR 50 million will be set up in the near future. He added that next year Eximbank plans to launch programmes for improving micro-credit and international competitiveness.

At the economic forum, Hungary’s Ambassador to Ankara Gábor Kiss drew Hungarian companies’ attention to the fact that Turkey has in place a development plan comprising large-scale projects for completion by 2023, the 100th anniversary of the foundation of the Republic of Turkey. He said that Hungarian companies could be active in the Turkish market in several sectors – energy, food and agriculture, machinery and automotive manufacturing, waste and water management, environmental protection and information technology – and could participate in Turkey’s privatisation process.

(Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade)