Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó announced at the business forum of the American Chamber of Commerce (AmCham) that three new U.S. investments will come to Hungary, creating more than 500 new jobs altogether, with a total value of USD 15.5 million (HUF 4.17 billion).
Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó stated that Hungary’s interest is to resolve all the open issues with the United States of America because the success of Hungary's foreign policy and foreign trade strategy requires balanced relations with the United States in all areas.
He emphasised that relations in the fields of defence and economy are excellent, the only open issues are in the area of political cooperation. Concerns about Hungary are based on exaggerations, he noted.
Péter Szijjártó announced that three new investments will be realised in Hungary within a few weeks with a total value of USD 15.5 million (HUF 4.17 billion), creating 500 new jobs altogether.
He added that the Hungarian government is to sign a strategic cooperation agreement with Oracle in the coming weeks. The software developer with headquarters in California will be the 10th U.S. company investing in Hungary to conclude such an agreement with the government.
The minister emphasised that U.S. companies investing in Hungary have significantly contributed to Hungary’s economic success, namely that 2015 will be the third consecutive year of growth for the Hungarian economy, the number of employees reached 4.15 million and unemployment has been steadily decreasing also in European terms.
Péter Szijjártó said that following the reduction of public utility costs, in 2014 energy prices will be reduced for economic actors as well, so as to make Hungary more attractive for investors. He added that Hungary’s further great advantage in the international competition for investments is its political stability; “we do not let anyone weaken this”, he noted.
As concerns the free trade agreement to be signed between the European Union and the United States, the minister emphasised that negotiations have to be totally transparent and national considerations must be taken into account.
He stressed that as a result of the agreement – on which the National Assembly will hold a debate at the beginning of February – Hungarian exports to the U.S. may increase by 15-20 percent, which may increase the national GDP by 0.2-0.3 percent.
President of the Chamber of Commerce Ferenc Pongrácz and President of the Hungarian Investment Promotion Agency (HIPA) Róbert Ésik signed a cooperation agreement at the AmCham business forum, the aim of which is to further strengthen Hungarian-American economic relations in the spirit of mutual trust and predictability, AmCham declared.
(Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade)
