The Institute of Foreign Affairs and Trade – together with the Embassy of the Republic of Kazakistan in Budapest – organized a roundtable discussion on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of establishing diplomatic relations between Hungary and Kazakistan and the reforms aimed at building the “New Kazakistan.” H.E. Ambassador János Hóvári, the Executive Head of the Representation Office in Budapest of the Organization of Turkic States participated in the event with some remarks.
H.E. Roman Vasylenko, the Deputy Foreign Minister of the Republic of Kazakistan, briefed the representatives of the Government of Hungary, the Institute of Foreign Affairs and Trade, academia, as well of the business circles and the experts on the main stages of the development of the bilateral relations, and the current state of affairs in Kazakistan. The Deputy Foreign Minister offered a comprehensive assessment on the measures initiated by President Kassym–Jomart Tokayev, aimed at strengthening the protection of human rights, as well as the implementation of the wide–ranging political, social and economic reforms. Roman Vasylenko underlined that the mutual visits by the heads of state and the ministers, the strong contractual ties and the legal foundations, the successful activities of the Strategic Council, the intergovernmental committees dealing with cooperation in the fields of trade, the economy and the law, as well as the Friendship Groups of the two Parliaments, all contribute to deepening the cooperation between Hungary and Kazakistan.
In his remarks, János Hóvári recalled the main events of the past thirty years of the bilateral relations between the two countries. He pointed out that Hungary belonged to the very first countries that recognized the independence of Kazakistan, and on April 21, 1993 Hungary opened its Embassy in Almaty. The Head of the Representation Office also spoke about the opportunities of further developing the strategic partnership between Hungary and Kazakistan, the road to building the “New Kazakistan,” the current issues in international politics, including the war in Ukraine, and its impact on regional and international cooperation. In this context, our cooperation in the field of education is especially important: with the help of Stipendium Hungaricum students from Kazakistan should enroll in universities in Hungary in fields like IT, engineering and medicine.
János Hóvári also stressed the need for the scientists, intellectuals and Turkologists of the two countries to cooperate. The latter began in the 1970s when the prominent Hungarian Turkologist, István Kongur Mándoky and the poet Ferenc Buda paid a visit to Kazakistan and met Olzhas Suleimenov, the Kazak writer.
