The eighth session of the Intergovernmental Committee on Economic Cooperation between Hungary and Uzbekistan was held in Budapest. In the presence of Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó and Laziz Kudratov, the Minister for Investment, Industry and Trade of the Republic of Uzbekistan the representatives of the two countries signed several agreements. It was also announced that a special economic zone will be established in Tashkent for the Hungarian companies.
During his joint press conference with his counterpart from Uzbekistan, Péter Szijjártó underlined the significance of the strategic partnership between the two countries, and pointed out that Hungary has been offered great opportunities to participate in the modernization of certain sectors of Uzbekistan. Several Hungarian companies in the pharmaceutical, agricultural and food industry have already launched the preparations for various projects. The financial background is also guaranteed, since the Fund to support the investments in Central Asia will soon be established.
The Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade called the fact that by purchasing 73 percent of one of the largest financial institutions in Uzbekistan, the National Savings Bank (OTP) has become one of the important stakeholders in the local banking sector. In such a way, it can act as a kind of flagship and support the Hungarian companies. The Government of Hungary attaches especially great importance to cooperation in the nuclear industry, since it is only those countries that are able to generate a significant part of the energy that they use can feel really safe today. In connection with this, the head of Hungarian diplomacy stated that Uzbekistan too was planning the building of a nuclear power plant. What is more, it is planned to be built in a site where there is not enough water to cool it. For this reason, MVM EGI – with its serious credentials in this field – could come up as far as the delivery of the technology of dry cooling under the Hungarian standards is concerned. Péter Szijjártó also added that each year ten future nuclear experts from Uzbekistan will be trained at the Hungarian universities.
The Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade also announced that the establishment of a direct air link could also provide an impetus to our bilateral relations. This is planned by WizzAir for the end of this year. However, Qanot Sharq Airways from Uzbekistan will launch its Budapest–Tashkent flight before this, already at the end of this summer. At the beginning, there will be one flight a week, from the fall two each week, and next year three flights per week.
