Boosting international relations will give a new impetus to the telecommunications industry in Hungary, Deputy State Secretary for Infocommunications Károly Balázs Solymár said in Budapest on 23 January, 2013. By the agreement signed at the Intersputnik Workshop organised by the Ministry of National Development and the National Media and Infocommunications Authority, Hungary became an active member of the operational decision-making body of the organisation.

At the event, Károly Balázs Solymár signed the protocol ensuring participation in the Intersputnik Operations Committee for Hungary, whereby the country can become actively involved in the operation of the organisation. The participants of the conference could learn about the opportunities opening up for small and medium enterprises in Hungary by which the organisation helped cooperation between researchers and businesses of participating states in the field of space telecommunications. The conference was also attended by Executive Director of Intersputnik Viktor Veshchunov, who delivered a lecture.

Hungary is a founding member of the organisation set up in 1971, which has 26 member states by today. The objective of the organisation is to help member states to establish and maintain their space telecommunication (primarily broadcasting) capacities in cooperation, to the benefit of one another. Intersputnik covers its operational expenses by renting out or selling its satellite capacities; participating states do not pay any membership fees. The session of the Board and Operations Committee of the international organisation is to be hosted by Budapest this spring.

In the opening address of the conference the Deputy State Secretary emphasised that the Government treated the development of industries with high added value, including the space industry, as a matter of priority. In order to foster this, discussions targeting Hungary’s full membership started also with the European Space Agency (ESA) in December 2013.

(Ministry of National Development - Communications Department)