Polish-Hungarian Chamber of Commerce was established with TriGranit on board

A hundred-year-old dream came true with the establishment of the Polish-Hungarian Chamber of Commerce. The official opening ceremony was held simultaneously in Warsaw and Budapest on 13 October. In addition to the participating member companies, this new institution is supported by representatives of the chambers of commerce, professional organizations and both states, that lined up with the aim of broadening and developing economic and trade relations and cooperation between Poland and Hungary. The leading positions of the chamber are filled by the leaders of companies such as TriGranit, Cordia Polska, Gedeon Richter Polska or Nowystyl Hungary.

Although Poland is the fourth most important foreign economic partner of Hungary and the third largest importer of goods, until now there has not been any bilateral economic and trade institution that could develop cooperation between the two countries. Last year, Polish-Hungarian trade turnover reached a record of EUR 10.4 billion, but the founders see further opportunity to strengthen bilateral business relations.

The first Polish-Hungarian chamber was established only a hundred years ago and operated until 1939, but after the war it did not start again. Later, with the system changes, it was not possible to create a bilateral chamber in this relationship – up till now. “We are very happy that the Polish-Hungarian Chamber of Commerce was established. For us, the start of the institution is also the result of many years of intense and fruitful economic cooperation between our countries. We hope that the Chamber will contribute to the revival of Polish-Hungarian trade relations in the first period of its operation, even in the current period of the pandemic, and in the long run will contribute to building lasting and strong partnerships for economic cooperation “- said Zsuzsanna Orsolya Kovács, Hungarian Ambassador in Poland.

The main goal of the Chamber is to strengthen bilateral trade and investor relations by the following:

• Providing market, economic and financial information that facilitates bilateral trade relations and contributes to strengthening scientific, technical and economic cooperation,
• Providing wide range of services for interested companies (legal advice, translation, etc.);
• Networking, event organization, organization of business meetings for member companies and Chamber partners, and implementation of training programs.

The Chamber already has 33 members

The Chamber was founded by 26 companies, but since registration the number of members has increased by 7 new members. Among the founding companies besides TriGranit are, for example Raben Logistics, Litwiniuk Property, Nowystyl Hungary or Greentech Polska. The Polish-Hungarian Chamber of Commerce is chaired by Michał Melaniuk, Managing Director of Cordia Polska and President of Polnord Ltd. The Chamber is planning to increase the number of members to at least 100 companies within a year.

Events already in the first year of operation

In the first year of operation, the Polish-Hungarian Chamber of Commerce is already planning events for Polish and Hungarian companies. The institution is planning trainings aimed at building a network of trust and cooperation between companies, for now in the form of a webinar, and then would like to focus on information events, launching a series of events “Doing Business in Poland” and “Doing Business in Hungary”.

The Chamber is planning to cooperate with many well-known institutions, including the Hungarian CED (Central European Economic Development Network Nonprofit Ltd.) and with its Polish counterpart – the Polish Trade and Investment Agency PAIH. The institutional partner of the Chamber is also the Polish Chamber of Commerce (KIG) and Hungarian Chamber of Commerce (MKIK), and its activities are actively supported by foreign missions of both countries, the Hungarian Embassy in Warsaw and the Embassy od Poland in Budapest.

More information can be found on the official website of the Chamber (www.plhucc.com ) or at info@plhucc.com