The successful Hungarian-German economic relationship in recent years is the proof that Germany is and will be part of the Hungarian present and future –Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said at his joint press conference with German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
The Prime Minister underlined that Hungarian people not only respect but also like the Germans and Germans living in Hungary have a huge role in this. Angela Merkel is the most important advocate of European unity and she is doing an invaluable work to establish it – the Prime Minister said praising the German Chancellor.
Viktor Orbán emphasized the importance of Hungarian-German economic ties: there is a great role of German investments in the improving Hungarian employment figures as 25% of new jobs is coming from German investments, six thousand companies created 300.000 jobs in Hungary. Moreover, 25% of the Hungarian export goes to Germany – he added. The Prime Minister also emphasized that “these figures demonstrate well that Germany is an inseparable part of Hungarian history.”
Referring to his talks with Angela Merkel, the Prime Minister reported that the topics covered were the Russian-Ukrainian situation and energy policy matters. He pointed out that the prevailing situation in Ukraine is crucially important for Hungary as in addition to being neighbouring countries, the natural gas from Russia also comes through Ukraine to Hungary and 200 thousand Hungarians are living in the area. Therefore, in this question “we Hungarians can only take a peaceful stance” - he added.
Angela Merkel thanked the Hungarian people for their help during the regime change and for opening Hungary’s borders to the Germans. She recalled that this was an important milestone in the creation of German unity.
According to Angela Merkel, Hungarian economic development is a cause for optimism and the German economy is pleased to contribute to the success of the Hungarian economy. Wherever present and investing, the German economy appreciates reliable frameworks – said the Chancellor and she added that the German economy is a loyal investor. Angela Merkel is confident that the economic cooperation between the two countries will continue in the future.
The Chancellor reported that in the course of negotiations, the role of non-governmental organizations was covered; as she said, the perspectives of the media, of NGOs and the opposition shall be taken into consideration. In addition they talked about the challenges Europe faces, the Russian-Ukrainian conflict’s effects on Hungary, as well as about the need to diversify energy sources. The Chancellor stated that Germany is aiming at the earliest resolution and reconciliation of the Ukrainian conflict as “the European unity is of great value to us”.
(Prime Minister's Office)
