On behalf of the Government of Hungary, Minister of State for Economic Strategy Zoltán Cséfalvay signed a Strategic Partnership Agreement with Canadian company Linamar in Guelph, Canada.

At the Canadian headquarters of the company, a manufacturer of machinery and precision metallic components and systems for the automobile industry, the document was also signed by Linamar Chief Executive Officer and President of the Board of Linamar Hungary Linda Hasenfratz.

As Zoltán Cséfalvay informed MTI in a telephone interview, “Linamar has set the ambitious goal of tripling its turnover by 2020, and Hungarian production facilities will have a prominent role to play in that.”

The Minister of State said that the Hungarian headquarters of Linamar Hungary Zrt, which was established in 1992, is in Orosháza, Békés county, and the company also has a site in Békéscsaba. The enterprise employs more than 2100 people in Hungary, has a significant Hungarian supplier base and has also been active in the field of research and development.

Zoltán Cséfalvay also participated at an investment forum in Toronto, where he said that direct foreign investment in Hungary exceeds USD 100bn, and out of that amount the investment by Canadian enterprises totals only USD 2.1bn, which signals that there is ample room for improving cooperation.
The Minister of State held talks with Ontario’s Minister of Research and Innovation Reza Moridi on research and development investment in Hungary.

He informed the press that the Government of Ontario and Canadian enterprises are primarily interested in Hungarian companies which are active in the field of life sciences, such as the manufacturing of medical appliances and equipment.

The Minister of State emphasised that the key objective of his visit is to show that Hungary is a first-rate investment destination for not only manufacturing but R&D&I projects as well.

Zoltán Cséfalvay also met with the management of BlackBerry. The Minister of State said that the telecommunications company sponsors a software development team of 60 experts at the Budapest University of Technology and Economics and this may open the door for further opportunities in the future.

At the University of Waterloo, the Minister of State exchanged views on how the Province of Ontario coordinates higher education and the demands of enterprises, and he paid a visit to the “technology-boosting” MaRS centre, which supports start-up companies that develop high-speed internet and telephone communications. As he said, “We discussed how such partnerships and support could be applied to Hungarian R&D&I.”

As the next leg of his tour, Zoltán Cséfalvay is scheduled to travel from Canada to Silicon Valley in the USA, and hold meetings at various locations on the East Coast.

(Ministry for National Economy)