Szijjarto welcomed the Russian government's support for Hungarian companies that aimed to enter the Russian market and cooperate with local partners. He added that a sign of the demand for such cooperation was shown by the representatives of the 78 companies at the forum.

He conceded that economic cooperation was "not the easiest" at the moment because of the international environment, but said that seeking Russian business partners wasn't "a political dirty word" in Hungary.

He pointed to the presence in Russia of OTP Bank, Hungary's biggest commercial lender, which made it easier for Hungarian companies to do business there, and to Hungarian oil and gas company's production operations in Russia.

He said the upgrade of Hungary's Paks nuclear power plant, by a Russian general contractor, offered opportunities for Hungarian companies, too.

He acknowledged that the physical delivery of goods, and even services, to Russia presented difficulties, but said work was underway on a solution with a regional partner that could soon give Hungarian companies an "enormous advantage".

Szijjarto said that free trade and cross-border economic cooperation was in the fundamental interest of Hungary, while initiatives to form blocs ran counter to the country's interest.

He said sanctions were doing more harm to the European Union than to Russia as economic players found ways to get around the measures.

Source: 
MTI - The Hungarian News Agency, founded in 1881.

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