The foreign minister has revealed that since the start of the coronavirus pandemic in Hungary last March, the government has supported 1,434 investments at the total value of HUF 1,676 billion (EUR 4.7bn).
Speaking at the inauguration of Hungarian-owned Merkbau’s new plant manufacturing doors and windows in Kiskunhalas, Péter Szijjártó, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade, said the pandemic posed economic challenges as well as public health risks.
The minister said the government has a duty to protect people’s jobs as well as their lives and health. In the spring, the government decided to fight unemployment rather than financing it, he said. The past decade’s efforts have created a robust Hungarian economy, with Hungarian companies at its foundations which are becoming stronger and stronger, he said.
The minister also pointed out that Merkbau, an important construction company in southern Hungary, has invested HUF 580 million to preserve long-term jobs for its 350 employees. The government has supported it with a HUF 287 million grant, he added.
Photo credit: koronavirus.gov.hu