Budapest, January 9 (MTI) – Hungary’s exports and foreign trade surplus were record high last year, Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó said on Monday commenting on data released by the Central Statistical Office.

Over the first eleven months of the year, exports were 2.7 percent higher than in 2015, the previous record year, Szijjártó told a press conference.

Hungary also registered a record high foreign trade surplus during the period, exceeding the previous record surplus posted in 2015 by 1.5 billion euros, he said.

Szijjártó noted that Hungary’s trade surplus came to about 9.5 billion euros for January-November last year.

The minister said the “backbone” of the Hungarian economy is made up of multinational corporations which employ Hungarian workers and have supplier contracts with Hungarian small and medium-sized companies.

“The more exports Hungary can achieve, the more Hungarians will have jobs and the more Hungarian small and medium-sized companies can join the supply chains of international companies,” Szijjártó said.

The minister revealed that the Hungarian Investment Promotion Agency (HIPA) had brokered a record 71 investments last year, worth approximately 3.25 billion euros, also a record. These investments created a total of 17,647 jobs.

Szijjártó “said international competition for investments and export opportunities was getting more and more intense, adding that Hungary would have to fight hard to retain its position in 2017.

The minister said that Hungary had recently reached deals on three major projects with foreign investors. Two of the three projects will each create more than 1,000 jobs each and one will create about 1,000 workplaces. The projects are in the automotive, electronics and service sectors, he added, without revealing any further details.

Announcements on the projects will be made soon, he said.

Source: MTI