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In front of an audience comprised of members of the business community, Mr Orbán recalled that earlier two borders had separated Hungary and Bosnia and Herzegovina, “we have already cancelled one, there is no Croatian-Hungarian border, there is Schengen.” The Hungarian motorway will shortly reach the Croatian border, “the Croatians, too, are working hard,” and so soon the two countries will also be connected together with a motorway, the Hungarian Prime Minister stated.
He added that Banja Luka and its environs are nice and tidy, there are big, thriving properties, this is a country where there is a future “because the future of the economy always depends on the quality of people, and that is best expressed by the environment.” If the realm of politics is able to stabilise this region, there will be a predictable economic environment here, Mr Orbán pointed out.
He said according to economic projections, the potential for growth in Western Europe is extremely low, while Germany is struggling with a state of economic depression. Hungary with its two point five per cent growth predicted for this year “is nothing less than royalty,” he said.
He established that the dynamism of the European economy was currently to be found in the Balkans because here “the people want to work and are also able to work;” there is a high level of industrial and agricultural sophistication, the same as in Hungary, and the two nations are striving to cooperate.
There is “an argument against this country, claiming that this is the world’s most complex state,” the Prime Minister said in continuation, adding that this is true of Sarajevo, but not of Banja Luka; over here, it is easy to take care of affairs, and so concerns relating to bureaucracy “can be set to one side.”
Mr Orbán said he believes in this region because 14 years ago, the Hungarian economy, too, was in a shabby state; the size of the Hungarian economy was seventy per cent smaller than it is today. Since then, Hungary has come a long way, a distance that others, too, are able to cover, “this dynamic growth, this development can also be achieved here,” he stressed.
He observed that 14 years ago Hungarian businesses would not yet have been here because Hungary was a country extremely low on capital. “Today, we have regional champions,” and some one thousand five hundred businesses that are able to invest abroad, the Hungarian Prime Minister stated. In continuation, he said Hungary is a country that is proud of its own history, culture and nation, “Hungary belongs to the Hungarian people, and so we expect foreigners to behave as they should.”
In the case of economic decisions, this means that the Serbian government should clearly state in which sectors they welcome Hungarian businesses, and “we will avoid any sectors” in which they do not welcome us because they do not want competitors, Mr Orbán said, adding that “this country belongs to the Serbian people,” and so there are only Hungarian businesses present here which are active in the areas designated by the Serbs.
“It is important that the locals should accept us, that they should feel that we are bringing opportunities to areas where there is a need for investment and development,” the Prime Minister stressed. He said he also encourages Hungarian businesses to set up joint ventures.
“This is a two-way street,” Mr Orbán observed, indicating that Hungary awaits Serbs “both as workers and entrepreneurs” because “rather than taking opportunities away, cooperation creates opportunities.”
