7 June 2013, Tatabánya.

My warm greetings to you all. Good afternoon. Your Excellency the Ambassador, Respected President of the Company. Dear Guests from Europe and Japan,

First of all, my apologies for appearing before you in this somewhat scruffy attire. A 70 billion forint development project would have deserved at least a good, bespoke suit, but the fact is that I have arrived here from the banks of the flooding Danube, and I shall be returning there shortly, so please forgive me, it is not a sign of disrespect. Before I say a few words about the factory, please allow me to first express my thanks to Japan through his Excellency the Ambassador, for the friendship with which it has honoured Hungary since the change in regime. I would like to remind ourselves of the fact that both countries have experience of lost wars, and have experience with regard to how a country should be rebuilt following lost wars. Consequently, both countries have experience regarding what is meant by national solidarity. We no longer remember, because we are young, but like the Japanese, our grandparents rebuilt Hungary in just three years within the framework of an unprecedented national solidarity, just as the Japanese did in their own homeland.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Perhaps this common historical experience is also one of the reasons why we understand each other well, and if the subject is development and investment, which is always centred around work and commitment to work, something in which the Japanese are outstanding, then we think along similar lines. We welcome all investment from Japan, and if I see and hear correctly, they are also happy to invest in Hungary.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Tatabánya is a strong city. We know this from the fact that following the change in regime, it was relatively quick to find its footing. As we heard a little earlier, the Mayor politely said that these were difficult times. Well, Ladies and Gentlemen, those weren't difficult times for Tatabánya, they were catastrophic times. And not just for Tatabánya, but for all the other bastions of socialist heavy industry. From Komló to Dunaújváros, Kazincbarcika to Tatabánya, we didn’t know how we would climb out of the state for affairs that the collapse of socialist heavy industry had brought with it. The results speak for themselves. Today, Tatabánya is a modern city. Tatabánya is one of the Hungarian bastions of modern industry, and Hungary may once again be proud of Tatabánya, because if someone would like to see what the future holds, they would do well to pay a visit to Tatabánya. This doesn't mean that there are no problems in this city, and it certainly doesn't mean that its inhabitants are all rolling in money, but we can certainly say that it has a place, that history and the city's leaders have designated this settlement's place in the future: Tatabánya will be one of the bastions of modern Hungarian industry for decades to come.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

We are of course filled with pride and joy when we lay the foundation stone of a development project of this kind, but let us for a moment remember that there are currently thousands of people working at the dykes so that we can avert trouble and danger. This is yet another good example of national solidarity. And I must tell you that although I have lived through several floods and catastrophes with you as Prime Minister, we are experiencing the widest, most devoted, most complete and in fact the most wholehearted solidarity now, here in Hungary, hopefully with effect.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

The flood is of course about us defending what we have, and in this respect it is about the present, and the laying of a factory's foundation stone is about creating a better future for ourselves, it is about tomorrow, and we should not forget about our future even in times of flood. His Excellency the Ambassador clearly stated that this is an important investment for Japan, and I would like to tell you that Bridgestone is an important partner for Hungary. I'm sure you know from the news that we sometimes conclude so-called strategic partnership agreements with the world's largest companies. We have recently also concluded an agreement of this kind with the Japanese company, Bridgestone. We conclude cooperation agreements of this nature with companies who plan to remain in Hungary for the long term, who have a long term plan for production in Hungary, and who for this reason represent a guarantee to Hungary that they will provide work to the people who live here in the long term. Before coming to this event, I asked the European Director of the factory what made Bridgestone choose Tatabánya. He mentioned two reasons. He didn't say it was confidential, so I'll tell you. The first, he said very concisely, was experience. This is something very important that we Hungarians often fail to value, because we are a clever people who tend to over think: we are always speculating and thinking ahead, and so we often fail to value this simple fact that the CEO simply called experience; reality; the knowledge that we have accumulated so far. And he went on to say that the most important thing, that is at the centre of the heart of experience, is that people here represent a high quality workforce, they are, in his words, committed. If I translate this into Hungarian, the word committed, then I think it means two things when it comes to work. The first is that they are industrious, meaning they want to work, and the other is that they are disciplined, meaning that they also know how to work. To be precise, they work well, and this is why the CEO mentioned it, this was the decisive factor in deciding to expand production right here.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

I say this to our guests; we rarely see comparisons of this nature in public, but three years ago, Hungary made an important decision. During the past ten years, an idea has evolved in Europe, which I think is a misconception, according to which the service sector will replace industrial production as the engine of the European economy. Three years ago, we said that this is a misunderstanding. Hungary must primarily develop its industrial production. The service sector is important, nobody underestimates its significance and there is good money to be made and many jobs can be created there too, but if there is no production, then there is no one to provide services to. Accordingly, we wish to turn Hungary into a production centre. And the data to which I refer is that today, Hungary is ranked second or third among the countries of Europe when it comes to what percentage of the gross national product is derived from industry. The Germans are ahead of us by a head, and the Czechs by a head and a half, and if we can continue these policies, then within two years Hungary will be the European country that generates the greatest proportion of its gross national product from industry, from manufacturing. I believe that this is the key to the future, and to the future of the people of Tatabánya.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Of course we have the flood now, but in general, things are going better than they were twenty years ago, and so we tend to forget that the Japanese were among the first investors in Hungary. A friend in need is a friend indeed, as we all know, and in the early nineties, at the time of the collapse, we received a lot of diplomatic help from Japan. We received help in handling our state debt, and Japanese investors heralded to the world that this is not one of the world's lost regions, but that we in fact mean the future. And so Hungary has good reason, irrespective of Bridgestone, or in addition to Bridgestone, to think back on these twenty odd years of friendship at the beginning of which Japan provided immense help to enable Hungary to become part of the modern world. I am glad that this friendship is still alive today and that Japan remains on the side of the Hungarian people.

A few words about this development project, Ladies and Gentlemen. As things stand, we call this an expansion, but if you look at the numbers, it is the equivalent of constructing a new factory. As I learned on the way here, to you, we are talking about the construction of a 100,000 square metre production hall. Three hundred and fifty people currently work here, and after the expansion, more than five hundred new employees will be appearing here in addition to the three hundred and fifty already employed. We have spoken about the fact that the Government had been searching for and has successfully found a way to help fund the project: we are contributing 2.7 billion forints to this development project so that these five hundred new jobs may be created.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

It is also no accident that we are at the inauguration ceremony of an investment project that happens to be related to the automobile industry. Hungary is now one of the European centres of motor vehicle production and car manufacturing. Soon, in perhaps less than a week, we will be inaugurating another factory not far from here, where cars will be manufactured.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

In summary, my job here in closing is to say a big thank you to the company's workers. Thank you to the people of Tatabánya for, through the excellent work you have performed over the past years and through its high quality, having given the investors the opportunity to establish another factory here. I would also like to thank the investors, our Japanese friends. Thank you for choosing us, and expanding your production capabilities here. It is my firm conviction that the Hungarian economy, although it is still far from performing excellently, is performing better than previously, and for this reason we can safely call it one of Europe's most promising economies, and Bridgestone is one of the most promising enterprises in the world. This will be a good marriage, and I wish us much success!

Thank you for your kind attention.

(Prime Minister’s Office)