The Hungarian Business Leaders Forum will hold the 26th edition of its Financial Summit on September 18, 2026, bringing together senior government officials, economists and business leaders to discuss what could support Hungary’s next period of sustainable economic growth.
The conference will take place at the Kempinski Hotel Corvinus Budapest and will focus on Hungary’s geopolitical position, competitiveness, innovation, financial stability and the conditions required to restore stronger economic convergence with the rest of Europe.
Among the headline speakers are Anita Orbán, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Deputy Prime Minister, and Zoltán Tanács, Minister for Science and Technology, alongside economists and business figures including Péter Ákos Bod, György Jaksity, Radován Jelasity, Júlia Király and Péter Oszkó.
Growth debate moves beyond capital and investment
A central theme of this year’s summit is whether Hungary can return to a faster growth trajectory and which competitive advantages could support that process. HBLF argues that Hungary’s next growth cycle will depend not only on capital inflows and investment, but increasingly on productivity, innovation, knowledge.
Zoltán Tanács is expected to focus on how research can be converted into commercially viable technologies and how startups can scale into internationally competitive Hungarian companies.
AI, technology and geopolitics move to the centre
The summit comes as technological change and geopolitical shifts increasingly influence investment and corporate decision-making.
Borbála Czakó, founder of the HBLF Financial Summit and former ambassador to London, said artificial intelligence, technological disruption and changing global power structures are creating new competitive conditions in which speed, knowledge and cooperation are becoming more important.
The conference will also examine Hungary’s potential for renewed convergence within Europe and whether the country can turn structural changes in the global economy into new sources of competitive advantage.
Financial stability and predictability remain key themes
A separate part of the programme will focus on whether stronger growth can be sustained without weakening financial stability or business confidence. Topics will include competitiveness, economic balance, regulation, investment conditions and predictability for companies operating in Hungary.
András Bácsfalvi, the HBLF board member responsible for the Financial Summit and an EY partner, said the country’s growth prospects depend on a combination of trust, predictability, innovation and cooperation rather than on a single policy decision or capital injection.
More than two decades of business debate
The Hungarian Business Leaders Forum itself was established in 1992 at the initiative of King Charles III, then Prince of Wales, with a focus on responsible business practices, sustainability, equal opportunities and corporate leadership.
HBLF also acts as the exclusive Hungarian representative of the European Diversity Charter and runs initiatives including the együttHATÓ Festival, the International X Mentor Programme and the Board-level Programme.
