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Hungary becomes key player in water diplomacy

President János Áder and István Joó discussed the economic benefits that resulted from the Planet Budapest 2021 sustainability expo.

During Monday's Blue Planet podcast, President János Áder discussed the economic benefits that resulted from the Planet Budapest 2021 sustainability expo. He talked in the podcast with István Joó, a deputy state secretary for export development and government commissioner in charge of Planet Budapest who was also involved in organising the Budapest Water Summit in 2019. Joó said that thanks to the water summit, Hungary has become a key player in water diplomacy. President Áder said the water summit yielded some scientific, diplomatic and economic benefits and as a result, the Planet 2021 expanded its theme to include sustainability, energy efficiency and food safety. Organizing the expo cost HUF 9.7 billion paid from the central budget but the participating companies expect HUF 134 billion (EUR 380m) in business profits from the opportunities that result from the event, Joó said. President Áder said that some 4,000 business meetings were held during the expo and instead of companies having to travel to different continents, they could “hold talks with half of the world here”.

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