Debrecen top investment target in Central Europe, claims FM

Thanks to “strategically planned development” Debrecen, in eastern Hungary, has become “the number one investment destination not only in Hungary but in central Europe, too”, Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó said on Thursday.

Speaking at the inauguration of a new service centre for electronics producer National Instruments Hungary, Szijjártó said that the government had subsidised its construction with a grant of 2.5 billion forints (EUR 7.5m).

Construction of the new facility cost a total 5.5 billion forints and has created 216 new jobs.

Szijjártó said that the Hungarian economy has benefitted from a total 1,481 billion forints in FDI since the beginning of the year, noting that both investments and exports reached a record high in 2019. He said new technologies have intensified competition in the global economy but Hungary was “doing well” in that respect.

Concerning the Hungarian government’s endeavours to shift the economy’s focus from production to innovation and development, Szijjártó said that those efforts required significant measures. For example, he said that job creation is no longer the sole criterion for receiving central subsidies. Moreover, the government has reduced social contributions paid by businesses and introduced tax benefits to promote research and development.