The Trump Administration is again turning American investors’ attention to Central Europe and there is further room for improvement in areas such as energy and defense, Eric Stewart, president of the Hungarian-American Business Council told Magyar Nemzet in an interview.
Stewart said he was on a visit to Hungary to further develop bilateral economic relations. He added that the delegation also included thirteen businessmen, who will not only have the opportunity to meet Hungarian business leaders but also government officials and the staff of the National Development Council, which he praised as a very effective organization.
Stewart said there isn’t one, single reason why Hungary is an attractive investment target but a multitude of factors: low taxes for business, creative and industrious workers, good prospects and the recent successes of the Hungarian economy. Also, Hungarian policies are not only aimed at attracting new investors to the country, but also keeping existing ones satisfied and encouraged to make further investments.
He said that while Hungary was focused on information technology – which is a good direction – the two areas where he saw the most potential for development are defense and energy.
Defense has good growth prospects primarily because of Hungary’s NATO commitment to increase its military spending to two percent of its GDP. Stewart said some of the businessmen in the delegation were defense contractors. The other field with significant development potential was energy: biodiesel, nuclear power generation and even the import of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from the United States.
He said that in contrast to the Obama Administration, which focused on Asia, the Trump Administration is again devoting more attention to Europe – and Central Europe. This means that political relations are improving, which is also beneficial to businesses.
Stewart also said he appreciated how the Hungarian government had a clear set of priorities: while remaining committed to its membership in the European Union, it was also judiciously seeking ties with Russia, China and the United States.
