“The number of research and development professionals in Hungary has doubled since 2010, the number of students in graduate studies doubled in five years, and some 30% of them are international students,” Hankó said at the event, held in Parliament.
The government has supported the sector by fostering a business-friendly environment, featuring the lowest corporate tax rate in the European Union at 9%, along with tax incentives for R&D, investment, and employment, he said. Additionally, Hungary established the National Research, Development and Innovation Fund and is backing joint R&D programs. “We support the growth of science campuses and technology transfer companies to bolster innovation,” he added.
Hungary’s focus is on cutting-edge sectors such as digitalization, the green transition, healthy lifestyles, and security, Hankó said.
Highlighting recent achievements, including Nobel Prizes awarded to biochemist Katalin Karikó and physicist Ferenc Krausz, Hankó said, “Hungary is proud of its scientists. I am convinced that Hungary is one of the best places on Earth to organize scientific conferences as well as to conduct scientific research.”
The forum was attended by notable figures such as Azzedine El Midaoui, Morocco’s minister of higher education, research, and innovation; Patricia Gruber, science and technology adviser to the U.S. Secretary of State; Lidia Brito, UNESCO’s assistant director-general for natural sciences; and Sudip Parikh, CEO of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS).
Later on Saturday, Tamás Freund, president of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, announced that the next World Science Forum will be hosted by Indonesia in 2026.
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