Viktor Orbán and György Matolcsy, Minister for National Economy, Government Commissioner for Hungarian-Chinese Relations attended a round-table discussion of Chinese and Central- and Eastern-European Premiers in the Polish capital on Thursday where they also met with Slovak Prime Minister Robert Ficó and Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao.
The Prime Minister said at the forum that Europe had to be dug out of heaps of debt, and in this effort it may be helped by allies such as China. In a world laid on new foundations, new alliances are being born. The speed and extent of the reconstruction of Europe are only comparable with the post-World War II re-construction effort. A breakthrough can only be achieved through reason and diligence, which are equally important values for China and Central Europe.
According to Viktor Orbán, those countries will succeed which will be able to avoid the external debt trap with internal savings; Hungary is the worst affected by the external debt trap in this region. In addition to raising the level of employment and maintaining a viable and operational financial sector, a strong industry may be the pledge of success. A low fiscal deficit may also contribute to success as external financial dependence restricts the state in pursuing an economic policy tailored to its own needs and features.
The Prime Minister said, at the bilateral talks held with the Chinese Premier they discussed options for supporting the growth of the Hungarian economy, development funds and financial cooperation. According to the Prime Minister, Hungary is on the right path to achieving the goal that China become one of the most significant players of business in Hungary. They also discussed the outlines of a comprehensive economic agreement which may be accomplished this year, as anticipated, when the Hungarian party pays a visit to China at the invitation of China’s Prime Minister.
At the Warsaw round-table discussion China committed itself to playing a financial role in the resolution of the economic crisis in Europe, however, China is additionally willing to make significant funding available for developments in Central Europe. The Hungarian party construes the Central-European framework as the funding of cross-border developments, that is, railway and road developments, and any further aid that each country negotiates with the Chinese is separate from this. We shall lay the foundations for Hungarian-Chinese economic cooperation on the basis of separate agreements. The agreements represent primarily the creation of new jobs for the Hungarians; however, there will also be scope for the acquisition of scholarship grants.
At the meeting held with Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico, the parties laid the emphasis on potential success stories and affairs that merely require positive intentions as joint achievements may help to resolve the more difficult issues in hand. Both parties are open to all questions that require sensitive and personal consultation and we sincerely hope that these will be resolved on the basis of the joint achievements we are about to forge, the Prime Minister said. I and the Slovak Prime Minister agreed on the construction of a new bridge on the Danube; according to plans, the bridge will be built at Komárom, and at least two bridges will also be built on the River Ipoly, he confirmed. We shall accelerate cooperation in the energy sector; in addition to the construction of a gas pipeline, we have also resolved to connect the power line systems of the two countries. The parties did not discuss the issue of dual citizenship at the meeting.
(kormany.hu)
