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Speaking at the II Hungarian Battery Day conference, Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó stressed that the world economy had turned upside down twice in less than three years in an unprecedented way. He added that the breakdown of economic cooperation between the European Union and China could have tragic consequences.
In his opening speech, the minister said that the world is at the dawn of a new era and there are many uncertainties ahead, but one thing is certain: the automotive revolution, the most important economic process of our time, is moving ahead unabated.
The automotive industry accounts for around 30 percent of Hungary’s economic output, so it is a challenge for Hungary, but also a great opportunity. He added that in order to avoid recession, we need to attract as much investment as possible, and electro-mobility has huge potential in this area too, which is why the government has provided funding for 44 investments in this sector over the past five years.
Since 2010, we have made it clear that our strategy is to be the meeting point between investors and the economy of the West and the East,”
said Szijjártó. He added that two of the world’s six leading electric battery manufacturers are already present, and in the case of CATL, the Chinese company that has announced the largest ever investment in Hungary, this is underway.
According to Péter Szijjártó, the record levels of investment last year and this year show that Hungary is managing to stay out of recession for the time being.
The minister also spoke about the strategy of opening up to the East, the success of which he said was also confirmed by the dynamic growth in investment. Referring to the negative consequences of the war in Ukraine, he pointed out that the threads of cooperation between Russia and the European Union are being cut, but it is important to avoid this happening to China, which is the largest trading partner.
“We, who operate on the basis of common sense and are much less trapped by ideological or political approaches, will do our utmost to reject initiatives aimed at destroying economic cooperation between Europe and China,” he stressed.
Featured photo via MTI/Kovács Tamás; Pixabay