Hungarian Investment Promotion Agency

The economic cooperation has always been the most successful pillar of Hungarian-American relations, however, in recent years, political relations have also influenced the economic sector. This means that “there could be more investments from the United States”. Therefore, one of HIPA’s main goals is to seize the opportunities arising with the new Washington administration taking office – the Government Commissioner for Investment Promotion and Implementation of Large FDI Projects at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade said in Trend FM's Guest of the Day program, on 4 February 2025.

It is no exaggeration to say that we may be entering a golden age for investments

– Mr. István Joó stated.

He added that several American firms are already in the focus of Hungarian investment promotion efforts, companies that are not yet present in Hungary but excel in cutting-edge technologies, such as artificial intelligence, financial services, and information and communication technologies.

Our task is to take action, reach out to these companies, and tell them that within Europe, Hungary offers an extremely investor-friendly business environment

– Mr. István Joó explained.

With regard to the Eastern Opening policy and the strategy of economic neutrality, he emphasized that due to the economic challenges in Western Europe – first of all in Germany – it is essential for the Hungarian economy to stand on multiple pillars and attract investments from diverse sources.

Instead of maintaining the ineffective sanctions policy against Russia, the European Union should focus on restoring its competitiveness and putting the bloc's largest economy, Germany – currently plunging into a prolonged recession – back on a path of growth.

What is happening in Germany is simply a tragedy, and for us, Hungary, it is not a success when a German investor comes here because they are forced to shut down their plant in Germany

– underlined HIPA's CEO.

He explained that the Eastern Opening policy and the country's economic neutrality are also indispensable for investment promotion because Eastern countries, such as China and South Korea, possess the most advanced technologies in a number of industries, and Hungary needs access to the best and most modern knowledge and technology to progress.

A prime example for that is electric mobility: “If we look at the global picture, we can see that all ten of the world's largest battery manufacturers are from the East.”

The future of Hungary’s automotive industry, which employs overall 300,000 - 400,000 people, can only be ensured by establishing a robust battery industry ecosystem. Without investments from Eastern partners, “a big question mark would have to be placed” on the long-term future of the sector.

At the same time, the Eastern Opening policy does not mean abandoning traditional Western relations.

We consider the continued inflow of Western capital to be just as important as it was ten years ago, and we are doing everything we can to ensure that new investors come to Hungary from Western Europe, America and Canada

– Mr. István Joó explained.