Polish-Hungarian economic cooperation – good practices and perspectives
On May 27, 2021, the Institute for Foreign Affairs and Trade (IFAT) organized an online roundtable discussion titled „Polish-Hungarian economic cooperation – good practices and perspectives”. The event was the next part of the Felczak Workshop series and the Hungarian-Polish Knowledge Base Program. It was opened by Jerzy Snopek Ambassador of Poland. The experts participating in the present discussion were Mr. Zsolt Becsey, Senior research fellow of Károli Reformist University, former State Minister for Foreign Economic Affairs; Mr. Marcin Karaskiewicz, Head of Budapest Office of the Polish Investment and Trade Agency; and Ms. Anna Wisniewski, General Director of the Polish-Hungarian Chamber of Commerce. The discussion was moderated by Mr. Tamás Baranyi, Deputy Director for Strategy of the Institute for Foreign Affairs and Trade.
In his opening speech, Ambassador Snopek recalled the economic and trade relations of Hungary and Poland from before the fall of communism then talked about the process of how Hungary became the 4th largest export partner of Poland with a trade value of around 10 billion euros. He also emphasized the importance of the development of economic cooperation between the V4 countries.
Mr. Zsolt Becsey pointed out that although the economic relations between the two countries were not ideal at the beginning, today it is mutually beneficial cooperation. He also mentioned new opportunities that came into view because of the pandemic such as the possibility of the share of free healthcare capacity or the development of joint tourism.
Mr. Marcin Karaskiewicz emphasized that even though 10 billion euros trade value is a significant amount, 30% of it is generated by foreign multinational enterprises. Because of this, the promotion of Polish brands in Hungary and encouraging export is crucial. He mentioned as problems the language barrier and the limited availability of Hungarian products in Poland as well.
Ms. Anna Wisniewski underlined that the Polish market is significant thus it is worth paying attention to it. But for a successful partnership, there are steps to be taken. A platform should be developed where all the market information is available and there is also high demand for opportunities where Polish and Hungarian trading partners can get to know each other and develop trust.
To the question of Mr. Baranyi, that was: what factors could strengthen the cooperation of the two nations, all of the experts replied that the development of the infrastructure is the most important because as Mr. Karaskiewicz said: until the cost of transportation is not reduced and there is no proper road connection between Hungary and Poland there will be no significant change either.
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