Drawing research and development investment is especially important to Hungary as a means to “win the future”, Péter Szijjártó, the minister of foreign affairs and trade, said at the inauguration of a 13,200 sqm R and D centre of German company ThyssenKrupp in Budapest on Thursday.
The government supported the 2.2 billion forint (EUR 6.1m) investment, where more than 1,000 engineers will work on automotive industry developments, with a 282 million forint grant, Szijjártó said.
The investment is another proof of ThyssenKrupp’s long-term commitment to working in Hungary, he said.
Szijjártó told the event that changes in the Hungarian economy had created a “virtuous circle: the companies with positive experience in production in Hungary are increasingly willing to bring research and development facilities here.” The products developed here are then likely to be manufactured in the country too, he said.
“The country winning the competition for R and D investment is actually winning the future, a chance for long-term reliable economic development,” he said.
Hungary’s economy grew by 18 percent in the past quarter, with investments worth a total of 1,700 billion forints currently under way in the country, he said. The automotive industry’ production value is expected to reach a record 10,000 billion forints, he said.
Featured photo by Tamás Kovács/MTI
