Hungarian foreign trade with Italy has been lasting for centuries. Many phrases allude to this (like „All roads lead to Rome” or „una vacca ungherese, se condotta sulla strada maestra, non si sarebbe fermata fino all’Italia”, which means: If the Hungarian cattle is on the right path, he will not stop until reaching Italy).

However, this relationship was more than only trading with cattle. Several evidences show that for many Italian traders one of the most important country of destination was Hungary. The history of Hungary and Italy crossed in 1848 and also during the Italian „war of independence” (when Hungarian soldiers fought against the Habsburgs ont he side of the Italians). The two countries mutually helped each other in that time.

Italy - being one of the four most important foreign partners of Hungary - has played (and plays) a crucial role in Hungarian foreign trade. This relationship has been strengthening in many fields since the outburst of the economic crisis (2007).

After the change of the political system in 1990, several Italian companies founded Hungarian affiliates or signed strategic economic partnership agreements. As a consequence, searching for effective channels of communication has become more and more important for Hungarian and Italian companies as well.

The economic actors have to adapt to these new circumstances. They must take account of the cultural distinctions between the two countries, which can cause major differences in the economic life and in the way of thinking, too.