Economic cooperation has strengthened relations between Hungary and Romania “by way of several joint success stories”, Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó said. After meeting Romanian Minister of Economy, Entrepreneurship and Tourism Claudiu Năsui, Szijjártó told a joint press conference that ties between the two countries were determined by close inter-dependence.
Romania is Hungary’s fourth most important export market and the sixth most important target country for Hungarian capital, he said, noting that bilateral trade last year totalled 8 billion euros.
As regards Hungarian investments, Szijjártó noted that Hungarian oil and gas company MOL will build 14 fuel stations and install 40 electric car charging stations along Romania’s motorway network. OTP bank, meanwhile, will increase its capital investment by 50 million euros and open its 97th office, he said. Energy company MVM has launched retail services and drugmaker Richter will expand its plant in Târgu Mureș (Marosvásárhely) with a Hungarian government grant, Szijjártó said, adding that Hungarian companies had won 22 billion forints (EUR 61m) to match their investments in Romania worth 45 billion forints. The sides signed an intergovernmental agreement on the building of a fast road link between Mátészalka and Satu Mare (Szatmárnémeti) scheduled to open in 2024.
Szijjártó announced that two of the ten temporary crossing stations, at Elek and at Dombegyház, will operate around the clock. Also, a tender for delivering gas extracted from the Black Sea shelf to Hungary has been concluded, he said.
At the event the two countries’ respective chambers of industry and commerce also signed an agreement on setting up a joint Romanian-Hungarian mixed chamber.
The Romanian minister told the press conference that the agreements will ensure expanding economic ties, and he applauded the prospective Hungarian investments. He said the coronavirus pandemic had shown the benefits of the shortest possible supply chains and exposed the importance of strengthening direct cooperation between neighbouring countries.
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