A letter of intent was signed for the establishment of a joint venture for rail freight in Budapest
Representatives of the Hungarian-owned CER Cargo Holding SE, the Russian railway company RZDL Europe Kft. And the Hungarian subsidiary of the Austrian Rail Cargo Group, Rail Cargo Hungaria Zrt., Signed a memorandum of understanding in Budapest on Tuesday in Budapest.
During the signing, Minister of Finance Mihály Varga emphasized that the Záhony Logistics and Industrial Zone will start rail freight services between China and Europe.
The establishment of the Záhony railway and freight hub is of strategic importance not only at the domestic level, but also for Europe, because it connects the countries of the East with the European Union.
The Minister of Finance stated that Hungary’s role in the development of Eastern trade traffic with the development of the Budapest-Belgrade railway and the logistics center in Záhony will determine.
Mihály Varga reminded that Hungary announced its Eastern policy in 2010, which began to strengthen relations with the Asian economic area amid Western criticism.
He emphasized the clear success of Hungary’s opening to the east, showing that in ten years 28 trade strategies could be found in trade between Hungary and the states to its east.
For Asia, foreign trade turnover grew on a much larger scale than total foreign trade for the strategy.
He explained that Hungarian exports to China already increased in 2020 compared to 2019, and imports by 26.
The total value of Chinese investments in Hungary exceeds $ 5 billion, and Chinese investments in Hungary employ about 16,000 people.
He mentioned that Hungary’s outstanding Asian partner is Kazakhstan, to which it exported 58 more from the country in 2020 than a year earlier.
Relations A are also fruitful In the first nine months of 2021, bilateral trade in Russian-Hungarian goods increased by 50 billion dollars over the same period last year.
The Ukrainian-Hungarian foreign trade balance rose to $ 960 million this year after $ 674 million in the first month of 2020, an increase of 48 percent.
Mihály Varga also spoke about Hungary joining the “One Zone, One Road” initiative in 2015 as a European country, in the framework of which open, free and barrier-free cooperation was established with the countries of the eastern region.
The construction of the logistics center in Záhony is a good example of the fact that Hungary’s policy of opening to the east does not mean a closure to the west, but a connection.
Minister of Innovation and Technology László Palkovics talks about the development of the railway being a priority in the coming years. Climate protection requirements for transport are also becoming more and more important, and emissions requirements cannot be met by a well-functioning railway network, he emphasized.
The head of the ministry emphasized that the trade in goods between Europe and Asia was developing in the following years, which is an important increase in rail freight capacity.
The epidemic situation has also pointed to a change in the supplier network, and the continuous development of the railway seems to be outstanding, so the railway is important.
In addition to the infrastructure, the development of rolling stock is also needed, and there would be a need for co-operations that ensure high-efficiency transport, László Palkovics emphasized.
On the occasion of the signing, Vladimir Tokarev, Deputy Minister of Transport of Russia, thanked the two-year work of the working group working on cooperation, calling the development of rail transport between Europe and Asia important.
CER Cargo Holding announced in its announcement on the occasion of the signing of the letter of intent that the administrative and operational preparations for the establishment of the company indicated in the letter of intent are already underway, the company is expected to start operations in the first half of next year.
The company focuses primarily on rail transportation of imported Chinese goods and export shipments to the Far East.