Federal Minister for Economic Affairs and Energy Minister Peter Altmaier (right) and the Hungarian Minister for Innovation and Technology László Palkovics (left).

Federal Minister for Economic Affairs and Energy Minister Peter Altmaier (right) and the Hungarian Minister for Innovation and Technology László Palkovics (left).

© BMWi/Susanne Eriksson

Federal Minister for Economic Affairs and Energy Peter Altmaier today met with the Hungarian Minister of Innovation and Technology László Palkovics for bilateral talks at the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy in Berlin.

Minister Altmaier said: "Hungary and Germany are strong economic policy partners in the European Union. As we are approaching Germany's Presidency of the European Council in the second half of 2020, I met with Minister Palkovics today to discuss matters of bilateral and European policy cooperation. We want to jointly work towards further strengthening good and reliable economic policy conditions for innovation, investment and growth in our countries and the EU."

Current topics for intensified German-Hungarian cooperation are Industry 4.0 and cooperation in the context of promoting innovation among small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

Germany and Hungary have close economic ties. Bilateral trade in 2018 amounted to nearly 54 billion euros. For Germany, Hungary ranks 14th among Germany's most important trading partners while Germany is Hungary's most important trading partner and largest foreign investor.