Economic cooperation with Israel ‘extremely important’, says Hungarian foreign minister in Jerusalem

Successful economic cooperation with Israel is “extremely important” for maintaining Hungary’s economic growth, Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó told public media in Jerusalem on Thursday.

Szijjártó, who is accompanying Prime Minister Viktor Orbán on an official visit to Israel, held talks with Minister for Regional Cooperation Tzachi Hanegbi and director-general of the foreign ministry Yuval Rotem.

It is “instrumental” for the Hungarian economy to be a part of “development outlining the innovative automobile industry of a modern age”, Szijjártó said, calling Israel a key player in research and development based on self-driving vehicles, electromobility and the everyday use of artificial intelligence.

The minister noted that some 200 Israeli companies operate in Hungary, employing 5,000 people.

He said a 2 million euro joint innovation fund established last year had supported seven Hungarian-Israeli R+D+I projects. This year, the fund’s allocation could be raised to 10 million euros, he added.

Szijjártó said

deliveries of gas to central Europe from an Israeli offshore field with some 800 billion cubic metres of reserves could start in 2024 or 2025.

As we wrote on May, Hungary’s ambassador to Israel was attending the reception the Israeli foreign ministry is hosting in Jerusalem to celebrate the US embassy’s move from Tel Aviv. Read more HERE.

Photo: MTI

Source: MTI