Hungarian-Slovak cooperation helps SMEs reach foreign markets, says Szijjarto

Budapest, April 2 (MTI) – Economic cooperation between Hungary and Slovakia plays a key role in the success of Hungarian small and medium-sized companies reaching international markets, trade chief Peter Szijjarto said today.

Szijjarto said at the opening of the Hungarian-Slovak Business and Information Centre in Torokbalint, near Budapest, that the number of border crossings between the two countries is expected to grow by 21 and therefore double by 2020. A permeable border is an unavoidable precondition for SME cooperation, he added.

Slovakia is in fourth place in terms of foreign trade turnover with Hungary, amounting to 8.6 billion euros last year, Szijjarto said. A total of 8,000 Hungarian companies have invested 1.2 billion euros in Slovakia, and Slovak companies have invested 150 million euros in Hungary, he added.

SMEs employ 75 percent of Hungarian workers, yet their share in exports only account for 20 percent of the whole. Hungary should increase the number of exporting SMEs from the current 2,500-3,000 to 12,000 in the near future, he added.

Photo: MTI

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