In the past years the significance of Central Asia has increased, and Hungary – before other players have done so – started the development of its relations with the countries of the region much earlier. In this regard, today we enjoy a competitive advantage – stressed Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó upon meeting his counterpart from Kyrgyzstan in Budapest.
During his joint press conference with the Foreign Minister of the Republic of Kyrgyzstan, Jeenbek Kulubayev, Péter Szijjártó pointed out that by today Central Asia has significantly been upgraded, since the transit routes and trade relations that used to be working well have lost their value because of the war in Ukraine and the imposed sanctions. “For this reason, the physical routes of trade with the Eastern world, as well as partly the sources of supply, have been moved to the region of Central Asia. Hungary, which participates in the work of the Organization of Turkic States as an observer, is already present in the region, and for us this amounts to a strategic advantage” – emphasized the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade of Hungary. He made it clear that “we profit a lot from this cooperation and we do take advantage of our competitive edge.”
Péter Szijjártó also underlined that last year the volume of trade between Hungary and Kyrgyzstan increased by 71 percent, and reached a record level. This year an increase of 3.5 times has been registered. The Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade also welcomed that under the former agreements on economic cooperation, the Hungarian companies have been granted serious opportunities in modernizing the system of water supply and irrigation of Kyrgyzstan. It is in the field of food industry the preparation of various projects is also going on. Furthermore, the investment in building a solar system by a Hungarian company can soon be launched. The joint production of steel has also started in Bishkek in the value of HUF2.5 billion.
The Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade of Hungary also talked about the bilateral cooperation in the field of education that has received a new impetus by the joint session of the Conference of Rectors, adding that the ties between universities in Hungary and Kyrgyzstan are becoming ever closer. Each year, 200 students can come to Hungarian institutes of higher education with a scholarship, and the Diplomatic Academy of Hungary is also taking part in the training of the young diplomats from Kyrgyzstan.
Péter Szijjártó was urging that the European Union and Central Asia should forge closer ties. In his opinion, in the framework of this, the Agreement on Enhanced Partnership between the EU and Kyrgyzstan – which was initialed already in 2019 – should be signed as early as possible.
During the Third Session of the Hungarian – Kyrgyz Strategic Council the Sides signed an agreement on cooperation in the protection of the environment.
