2025 the year of breakthrough in Hungary? FM Szijjártó foresees peace this year – UPDATED

The end of the war in Ukraine is closer than ever, and peace will contribute greatly to Hungary seeing a year of breakthrough in 2025, in the economy as well as in other fields, the minister of foreign affairs and trade said in Budapest on Wednesday.

Péter Szijjártó said on the sidelines of Wednesday’s cabinet meeting that the three years “in the neighbourhood and shadow of the war in Ukraine” had brought sanctions-related inflation, economic challenges and the burden of caring for refugees. Peace would be “refreshing and liberating” for the entire region as well as Hungary, he said according to a ministry statement.

He said the opportunity for peace to return to central Europe was now closer than ever. “The past three years have shown that Hungary was right about this, too … Only a US-Russia agreement can lead to peace.” Talks will continue this week, he said. “Hungary has an interest in the success of these talks and in a wide-ranging, comprehensive agreement, which will be an important guarantee for global and European security.” That, in turn, will create the environment for “serious economic growth”, he said.

He lamented that “not everyone in Europe thinks this way”, and said that liberal leaders were “pro-war … and want to undermine and hinder the success of US-Russia talks.” “It is clear why Europeans were not invited or allowed to participate in those negotiations. They are negotiating about peace, and they don’t need pro-war [partners] for that.” He said that at next week’s European summit, Hungary will represent the stance that the swift success of the peace talks is in Europe’s interest.

UPDATE: “Aim to make 2025 breakthrough year justified”

Hungary’s goal to make 2025 a breakthrough year is justified, Szijjártó said at the Hungarian Investment Promotion Agency’s annual Investor of the Year awards ceremony in Budapest on Wednesday.

Hungary will build 100 new factories over the course of a year with a view to maintaining full employment so that families’ lives can be predictable, the minister said. Szijjártó said Hungary had not only survived the crises of the last 15 years, but had also emerged stronger from each one. He said employment now exceeded pre-pandemic levels, and Hungary had also reined in inflation caused by the sanctions imposed in connection with the war in Ukraine.

“And none of the crises could convince us to get involved in the economic cold war,” the minister said. He welcomed that 2024 was Hungary’s second most successful year in terms of investment promotion after 2023 when Hungary attracted more than 10 billion euros worth of investments. The investment agreements signed in 2022, 2023 and 2024 will generate more than 15,000 jobs, he said, noting that the value of investments in Europe was down 45 percent last year and 20 percent fewer greenfield investments were announced.

Szijjártó hailed the role of Hungary’s policy of opening up to the East and its strategy of economic neutrality in the country’s success, noting that China, South Korea and Japan accounted for 80 percent of the value of last year’s investments. He said the fact that most of last year’s investments came from Germany and the United States showed that the government also valued balance, and proved that Hungary had become a meeting point of investments from the East and West.

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