Opening the forum, FM Szijjártó thanked the participants for attending despite the international sanctions environment. “We are gathered here today in the hope that peace efforts will soon succeed, that peace will return to Central Europe, and that sanctions will come to an end — because once peace is restored, maintaining sanctions would run counter to all common sense,” he said.
He stressed that Hungary intends to be fully prepared for the “new global economic era” expected to follow the end of the war and sanctions. “This new era will bring enormous opportunities. It will be a major relief for the world economy, and global trade will gain new momentum. Hungary must take maximum advantage of this,” he said.
Minister Szijjártó highlighted that Hungary preserved its cooperation with Russia even through difficult times, noting that 34 Hungarian companies are represented at the forum. He pointed out that Hungarian corporate investments in Russia have now exceeded one billion euros despite the challenging environment.
He emphasized the strong presence of major Hungarian companies in Russia. The OTP Group has risen into the top 20 Russian banks, now ranking 19th after holding 51st place nine years ago. MOL continues substantial exploration and production activities at the BaiTex oil field with its Turkish partner, and the government supports the company’s intention to expand further. Richter now holds more than 3 percent of the Russian pharmaceutical market, and the forum produced an agreement for Hungarian regulators to assist in the renewal of European operating licenses for Russian plants.
FM Szijjártó also mentioned ongoing agricultural and food-industry cooperation, including Agrofeed’s construction of a second feed plant in the Tula region. Delegation members represent additional sectors such as cosmetics, chemicals, metalworking, logistics, water management, and health tourism. “The breadth of cooperation is shown by the fact that the national chief medical officer and the director of the Budapest Circus are also part of the delegation,” he said.
He underlined that Hungary has resisted strong international pressure aimed at ending cooperation with Russia. “We maintained and continued to develop this cooperation. We blocked every sanction proposal that conflicted with Hungarian national interests,” he said, adding that bilateral trade — after years of decline — is growing again this year.
Minister Szijjártó concluded that the 240 business meetings held on Tuesday will help Hungarian companies secure a strong starting position once peace is restored. “These talks will give Hungary the chance to become a genuine winner of the new global economic era,” he said.