Orban gives “reassuring answer” concerning German firms, says Szijjarto

Budapest, February 3 (MTI) – Prime Minister Viktor Orban provided a “reassuring answer” to German Chancellor Angela Merkel when the latter asked him about government measures impacting German businesses in Hungary, the foreign minister said on public Kossuth Radio on Tuesday.

“If the business environment were bad, German companies would not have invested 6 billion euros in Hungary since 2010,” Peter Szijjarto insisted. He noted that currently 6,000 German firms are active in the country and employ 300,000 people of the local workforce.

During talks in Budapest on Monday, Orban and Merkel were in agreement concerning cooperation in such geopolitical issues as developing ties between the European Union and Russia or the Eurasian region, Szijjarto said.

Resolving the Ukraine conflict through peaceful means is a joint interest of Hungary and Germany, the minister said, adding that Hungary observes European decisions concerning sanctions against Russia.

Monday’s talks focused on the interpretation of an illiberal democracy for “as long as one minute and 20 seconds”, Szijjarto said. Different countries have different definitions of democracy, and, being different, we will not force our definition upon another country, Szijjarto explained.

In summary, the foreign minister said that there are no conflicts of any kind between Hungary and Germany, and the “personal relationship between Orban and Merkel is quite excellent”.

Source: http://mtva.hu/hu/hungary-matters