„During the next 15-20 years, the centre of European economic growth will be in Germany and Central Europe, and accordingly it is worth investing in this region”, the Prime Minister told the businesspeople present, adding: “Central Europe, and within it Hungary, has responded to global economic challenges with rapidity, flexibility and market-friendly regulations”.
“The goal of the Hungarian delegation visiting the Southeast Asian country is to convince businesspeople from Singapore that it is worth taking part in the success story made possible by the development trajectory of the Hungarian economy”, he explained, adding that “similarly we would like to convince Hungarian businesspeople to take part in the success story provided for by development in Singapore”.
The Prime Minister expressed his hope that at the next Hungary-Singapore meeting the parties will be able to report on “the growing economies of two countries that are following their own paths”.
Presenting Hungary, Mr. Orbán told the Singapore businesspeople: We are a country, in which there are no raw materials of natural resources, but we do have “large neighbours with healthy appetites”, and we have some one thousand years of national experience at our disposal. It is from these capabilities that we must achieve results, but “the modern age is playing into the hands of the Hungarians” because “raw material intensive” global economic development is increasingly shifting towards a “knowledge-intensive” economy, he continued.
According to Mr. Orbán, the competition between countries will not be decided by who is large and who is small, but by who is fast and who is slow, meaning who is capable of transposing state-of-the-art scientific results into its economic life the most rapidly.
“Singapore has recognised this law, and has realised that it must create something that did not previously exist: this is the key to Singapore’s success”, said the Prime Minister, according to whom Europe, and within it Hungary, needs something similar.
Mr. Orbán told those present that Hungary is expecting to achieve economic growth of around 4 percent this year.
The Prime Minister said that the great question of the future was linking production and digitalisation, adding that Hungary is making excellent progress in this regard. He cited, amongst others, the major funding for research & technology and the proliferation of super-fast internet access.
At the forum, Singapore’s Minister of Trade and Industry Lim Hng Kiang praised improving Singapore-Hungarian bilateral relations. “Hungary offers excellent opportunities for Singapore enterprises thanks to its strategic location”, he said, pointing out that several companies from Singapore are already present in Hungary, and calling for further partnership between enterprises from Hungary and Singapore.
