The opening speeches were given by Ms. Darja Bavdaž Kuret, Ambassador of Slovenia in Budapest, and Mr. László Korányi the acting president of the National Innovation Office. The guests listened to presentations about the Slovenian and Hungarian governmental policies on innovation, about the Slovenian SPIRIT and the Hungarian HITA trade development and investment agencies, as well as two innovative companies took the floor. Representatives of the Hungarian Academy of Science’s (MTA) Wigner Physics Research Institute and of the Josef Stefan Institute - the biggest research institute in Slovenia – gave speeches about the importance and the role of academic research which is the base of innovation. After the presentations, the representatives of the Hungarian companies were given the chance to meet and discuss with their Slovenian partners in the frame of a B2B meeting.
The main objective set by the Hungarian National Research, Development and Innovation Strategy 2020 is to raise the Hungarian gross R&D expenditures from 1,2% to 1,8% of the GDP by 2020.
In 2012, Hungary’s trade with Slovenia was 1697,9 million Euros which is a 2,7% increase compared to 2011. In 2012, the Hungarian export exceeded by 160,1 million Euros the import. Hungary’s main export is mineral and chemical products as well as equipment and electrical goods.