THE head of Hungary’s Foreign Affairs and Trade recently led the formalization of several agreements with the Philippines, during the occasion of the European country’s embassy reopening at Del Rosario Law center in Bonifacio Global City, Taguig.
“We have opened a credit line by the Hungarian Eximbank for €510 million to facilitate Hungarian-Filipino business-to-business cooperation…. This is eligible for very simple business transactions,” declared Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Peter Szijjarto, following a ribbon-cutting ceremony at their new embassy in Bonifacio Global City.
The credit line, he said, is eligible for joint ventures and running together different projects.
“I would like to encourage you to take advantage of [it], which consists of long-term credit with very low interest rates,” he told a gathering of government officials and members of the media.
“We would like to facilitate bilateral economic cooperation, and have offered 35 scholarships on an annual basis to Filipino students to study in Hungary to become ambassadors and promoters of our relationship,” he added.
Participants in the ribbon-cutting ceremony were Dr. Hungarian Ambassador to Philippines Jozcef Beneze and Szijjarto, as well as Trade Secretary Ramon M. Lopez and Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Ariel Abadilla.
“We would like to boost the negotiations between Hungary and the Philippines based on the three trade agreements we just signed, and we hope we can count on the leadership of the Philippines to take over the chairmanship of Asean to further enhance the intrarelationship between the EU and the Asean,” Szijjarto said.
The three agreements were on bilateral cooperation, cultural cooperation and the cooperation on the establishment of the Foreign Embassy Institute.
Hungary would like to have more companies in the country, and it had organized a business forum, “because we would like our business captains to take part in this rapidly growing economy”.
“Our interest is to have more Hungarian companies involved in the markets of the Philippines, based on mutual respect and mutual benefits,” he added.
Szijjarto said trade between the two countries amounted to $200 million last year, “which is not a small figure, but we have a lot of room for improvements”.
“We have three major areas where we could be successful,” he said, adding Hungary is a landlocked country without oil, gas or natural resources.
He said his country emphasizes on the creativity of its people, who also engage in research and development (R&D), information-technology (IT) application, urban management and machinery, “based on the highest technological levels”.
Szijjarto would like to offer their expertise in knowledge-based technology and IT, including agriculture and water technology.
He said they would like to participate in the country’s five-year development plan in agriculture: “We understand the Philippines has a plan in five years to overhaul and systematize their agriculture; our technologies can contribute to your success [in that sector]. We have the strictest regulations on food security.”
He explained, “It is in Hungary’s constitution that our food must be free of GMOs [genetically modified organisms], so it is not only healthy but also delicious.”
Szijjarto said three Hungarian companies have received permits from the Department of Agriculture to start exporting meat to the Philippines.
Likewise, he informed that Hungarians have expertise in water management, and their technology has been adopted in Vietnam, Indonesia and Sri Lanka.
“We can offer these services to the Philippines to overcome these various challenges,” he said, noting that the country has to deal with flooding and typhoons every year.
“Speaking of Hungary, we were able to create the most attractive investment climate in the European continent, and have introduced the lowest corporate income tax in Europe, which is flat rate at 9 percent.”
Further, he revealed, “we have introduced the lowest personal income-tax rate, which is flat-rate 15 percent—the lowest in Europe”.
“We have introduced an investment-incentivizing system based on technology. In certain parts of Europe, the cash incentives can reach up to 50 percent of the investment [value],” and added, “Hungary has introduced tax incentives related to R&D. So whatever you spend on such, twice as much can be deducted on investment.”
“In 2016 the external economy of Hungary has broken all records; we never had such high levels of export last year—the highest in the history of our country,” Szijjarto boasted.
Image credits: Roy Domingo