US has become Hungary’s number-one export partner outside the EU – USHBC

Some 1,600 US companies employ 100,000 people in Hungary, Foreign Minister Peter Szijjártó said on Wednesday.

Szijjártó addressed an online meeting of the US-Hungary Business Council (USHBC) and shared the video on Facebook.

He said that in the new era of global economy, only companies that can adapt to new challenges would be successful.

The two principles behind the government’s measures introduced during the second wave of the novel coronavirus epidemic have been to protect people’s health and lives, and to maintain the functioning of the economy, he said.

He said recent measures included curfews, bans on gatherings, restrictions on shops and restaurants and a ban on hotels catering for tourists. At the same time, business travel is not prohibited and company employees can visit Hungary without the obligation to stay in quarantine, he added.

Szijjártó said it was commonly understood that a vaccine would provide a real solution to the current situation and Hungary was in talks in several directions in this regard.

“I would like to inform you that we will be the first country to receive samples of the Russian vaccine on Thursday,” he said.

The ten doses of vaccine to be received will undergo laboratory testing in Hungary and a decision will be made on possible purchases on the basis of these tests, he added.