The Budapest Balkans Forum 2024 began with captivating discussions about the region’s future, featuring Hungarian government officials such as Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó, Minister of Defence Kristóf Szalay-Bobrovniczky, and Minister for EU Affairs János Bóka, among others.
Péter Szijjártó welcomed the continuous development of bilateral economic relations and the breaking of export records. He also praised Qatar’s role in the release of some hostages abducted by Hamas, including three Hungarian citizens, and revealed that another Hungarian citizen might be held by terrorist organization and requested assistance from Qatar in facilitating their prompt return.
Péter Szijjártó pointed out that Hungary managed to achieve great results despite the fact that the global economy underwent significant crises last year, as indicated by global data. The amount of investments made worldwide decreased by 12.5 per cent from 2021 to 2022. In the first half of last year, an additional 30 per cent decrease was recorded.
BYD, the world’s leading electric vehicle manufacturer based in Shenzhen, China is opening a new factory in the southern Hungarian city of Szeged. Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó has called it ‘one of the biggest investment projects in Hungary’s history’.
According to a statement from the ministry, Péter Szijjártó stressed that the German-owned ZF Chassis Modules Hungary Ltd will manufacture shock absorbers, as well as front and rear axles for electric cars produced from 2025 at the BMW plant in Debrecen and the Mercedes plant in Kecskemét.
At the inauguration ceremony of the new unit at the Dunaharaszti plant of Coca-Cola HBC Hungary, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó highlighted that US companies now constitute the second largest community of investors in Hungary.
‘I asked my colleague to assist us in ensuring that the two [remaining] Hungarian nationals who hold dual citizenship can be released from captivity as soon as possible,’ Péter Szijjártó shared, adding that it is excellent news that one of the affected individuals is demonstrably alive and stressed the importance of locating the other person. He expressed the hope that both can return home as soon as possible.
During a joint press conference with Alexey Likhachev, the head of the Russian nuclear energy company Rosatom, Péter Szijjártó welcomed the start of the construction of new reactors in Paks. He pointed out that the expansion is currently the largest nuclear project on the continent with a construction permit.
Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó of Hungary took part in the inaugural ceremony for Astana’s newly renamed Petőfi Street, calling the gesture a profound sign of respect from the Kazakh people towards Hungary.
According to a statement from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Péter Szijjártó highlighted during the inauguration of the new office of Aldi International IT Services that the establishment of the IT service centre will create fifty highly skilled jobs. The state supported the 1.2 billion HUF investment with 120 million HUF.
Hungarian Conservative is a quarterly magazine on contemporary political, philosophical and cultural issues from a conservative perspective.
