‘Although the level of economic cooperation between Hungary and Kazakhstan is not yet sufficiently high, significant growth has been achieved, and the foundation has been laid for it to potentially expand by an order of magnitude in the coming years,’ Prime Minister Viktor Orbán stated on Thursday in Astana, where he participated in an official bilateral meeting with President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev.
During the press conference, Viktor Orbán expressed his gratitude for the honour of being awarded a decoration in the spirit of the Kazakh-Hungarian friendship. He considered it a privilege and pledged to work towards promoting stable cooperation between the two countries in the future.
President of the Republic of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev awarded Viktor Orbán, the the First Degree of the Order of Friendship of the Kazakh State.
Orbán expressed his condolences with regard to the tragedy at the Karaganda mine.
He stated: ‘Our thoughts and prayers were and are with you,’ referring to the Hungarian government’s support. He also mentioned that nine years ago, leaders decided to elevate Hungarian-Kazakh relations to a strategic level, putting a lot of effort into it, and the results have already been evident this year, with economic cooperation set to further expand in the future.
In his speech, the PM expressed his gratitude to the President for discussing not only economic matters but also global security issues during their talks. He noted that this topic would come up again on Friday at the Tenth Summit of the Turkic States Organization.
The PM reminded the Kazakh president that Hungarians came to Europe from the East, and Hungarian people believe that life is an alliance among ancestors, those living today, and their descendants. In this respect, Kazakhs are part of the lives of Hungarians because they are part of a common history.
Viktor Orbán considered Hungary’s energy supply a key issue and noted that
it is important for Hungary to be able to receive oil not only from Russia but also from Kazakhstan.
He added that the volume of this is not significant yet, but the channels have been opened, and this is a significant step for the country’s security.
The PM expressed his gratitude to the Kazakh President for allowing MOL to participate in gas production in Kazakhstan, for involving Hungary in the development of local green energy, and for the opportunity for nuclear industry cooperation.
He also mentioned his pride in the fact that Hungary hosts about 250 Kazakh university students every year, which means that currently, approximately a thousand Kazakh students are studying in Hungary with Hungarian state scholarships.
Related articles:
