State Secretary for Foreign Affairs and External Economic Relations Péter Szijjártó met with Chairman of Vnesheconombank (VEB) Vladimir Dmitriev in Budapest and discussed the bank’s plans with Dunaferr.
Minister of State János Lázár held a two-and-a-half hour meeting with representatives of Hungarian Jewish communities today, within the framework of the Roundtable of Jewish Communities. Following the event, he addressed the press at a doorstep press conference.
Foreign Minister János Martonyi paid an official visit to Berlin on 5 February to hold talks with his German counterpart, Frank-Walter Steinmeier.
Local governments that managed their resources well and required little or no consolidation will receive HUF 50 billion in funding over the next four years – Minister of State for local governments András Tállai said.
The seasonally adjusted Purchasing Manager Index (PMI) for January 2014 increased to 57.9 points, according to the press release of the Hungarian Association of Logistics, Purchasing and Inventory Management (HALPIM).
A whole network of scientific research centres must be established so as to make Hungary a research and development hub as well as a manufacturing centre, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said, addressing the ELI laser centre’s foundation stone laying ceremony in Szeged, South Hungary.
The balance of the central sub sector of the state budget in the first month of 2014 was in line with the Government’s prior estimates, as a deficit of HUF 75.4bn was recorded.
International media interest in Hungary intensified and the country's image in the foreign media improved overall last year compared to 2012, a report released on Thursday by the Nézőpont research institute shows. Deputy State Secretary for International Communications, Ferenc Kumin highlighted the positive tendencies in his presentation as well.
Minister for National Economy Mihály Varga, speaking on public service television M1 this morning, said that the agreement on the financing of the Paks nuclear power plant expansion project offers conditions which are more favourable than those available on the market. Meeting in Moscow, the two parties agreed to a variable-rate loan of EUR 10bn with a tenor of 21 years.
The Hungarian exhibitors were well-received at the world's largest fruit & vegetable expo, the Fruit Logistica in Berlin, at which Hungary could be the featured guest in 2016, the President of the Hungarian Fruit and Vegetable Interprofessional Organisation and Product Board (FruitVeB) told Hungarian news agency MTI at the expo that opened on Wednesday.
Hungary’s policy for assisting innovative start-ups has made a successful debut in Sweden, Minister of State for Parliament and Economic Strategy Zoltán Cséfalvay told MTI, calling from Sweden following a Hungarian innovation forum.
Charge d’Affaires of the Embassy of the United States of America M. André Goodfriend and Minister of State for Taxation and Financial Affairs Gábor Orbán signed an agreement today between the governments of Hungary and the United States of America to implement the U.S. Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA).
Because of forint exchange rate volatility this year’s budget does not have to be modified and the Government has a firm grip on fiscal processes, Minister for National Economy Mihály Varga said at a press conference, adding that the fiscal deficit will be below 3 percent and following a period of turbulences the Government is expecting markets to cool off.
Government welcomes the decision of the European Court of Justice confirming that the Hungarian retail tax did not constitute discrimination among different forms of retail organisations.
The Ministry for Human Resources and the Johannite Caritative Service has donated a significant amount of food, which the Budapest Childcare Service will distribute to 2,800 children living in orphanages and at foster parents.
“The Government has established very effective cooperation with caritative agencies” – Minister of State for Social and Family Affairs Miklós Soltész said when presenting over the food packages.
As Hungary currently holds the Rotating Presidency of the Visegrád Group until 30 June, Hungary hosted the traditional tourism summit of the member countries.
According to State Secretary for Foreign Affairs and External Economic Relations Péter Szijjártó, the Hungarian car industry is in exuberant form, and its performance is proof that the Government has pursued the right strategy in response to the economic crisis.
Foreign Minister János Martonyi gave an interview to Wednesday's Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung under the title: "The deal with Russia is good for both sides".
The Hungarian Export-Import Bank (Eximbank) extended its export credit refinancing framework program. The related agreement with twelve credit institutions was signed by Minister for National Economy Mihály Varga and Eximbank CEO Roland Nátrán in Budapest.
Both the Hungarian and the Slovenian foreign ministers visited Lendava (Lendva) where Foreign Minister János Martonyi officially opened the new consular office of the Hungarian embassy in Slovenia on 4 February.