Hungary wishes to further strengthen its cooperation with the Organization of Turkic States (OTS), a partnership from which our country has already benefited greatly, Péter Szijjártó, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade said on Wednesday in Budapest.
According to a statement from the ministry, Szijjártó spoke about this at a press conference following the informal summit of the OTS which Budapest hosted on Tuesday and Wednesday this week. The minister recalled that Hungary joined the organization as an observer seven years ago and that although the world has changed a lot since then, these changes have only further reinforced the importance of cooperation with the Turkic states.
He emphasized that Hungary is successful in this respect, as evidenced by the fact that the OTS's European headquarters are located in Budapest and that, based on the decision of the member states, Balázs Hendrich, Hungary's former Consul General in Istanbul has been appointed as its Director General.
Szijjártó noted that the world is facing many dangers today, and Europe is facing serious challenges in the areas of security, the economy, and energy supply, but thanks to its cooperation with the Turkic states, Hungary has been able to find answers to these difficulties more easily.
He emphasized that the Turkic states have been able to strengthen their economies even in the current turbulent period, increasing their gross domestic product (GDP) by 20 percent in recent years, while trade between OTS member states has increased by 50 percent.
“We have also contributed to this by doubling our trade with the Turkic states, and as a result of the significant infrastructure developments that have taken place in the Turkic states, the transport time between Europe and China will be reduced by approximately one week (...) Hungary has taken advantage of the fact that the economic growth of the Turkic states has not stalled,” he emphasized.
As an example, he mentioned that Hungary's and Turkey's largest railway construction companies have formed a strategic alliance, Hungarian pharmaceutical companies will soon begin production in Azerbaijan, and starting next week, a new flight will connect Hungary with Kazakhstan. He also said that an industrial park had been set up in Uzbekistan specifically for Hungarian companies, and a hydroelectric power plant was being built in Kyrgyzstan with Hungarian participation.
Péter Szijjártó then pointed out that Hungary's energy supply would not be secure today without the Turkic states, adding that this is not a political issue but a purely physical one, as the majority of natural gas is already transported via the Turkish Stream pipeline.
He pointed out that Hungarian companies have acquired stakes in oil and natural gas fields in Azerbaijan, MOL has recently started extracting natural gas in Kazakhstan, and decisions have been made to build nuclear power plants in Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan, with the intention of using Hungarian technology as well.
“The region represented by the Turkic States has become the world's third largest source of oil and natural gas, so Hungary's good cooperation with these countries is of enormous importance in terms of the country's energy supply,” he said.
The minister also touched on the issue of security and called the OTS an ‘organization truly committed to peace’, and a ‘real champion of peace’, given that these countries have the best chance of facilitating a settlement in three serious armed conflicts. He praised Turkey for its mediation between the warring parties in Ukraine and welcomed the fact that an agreement had been reached on the text of the peace agreement in the Azerbaijani-Armenian conflict.
He announced that a statement had been adopted during the day which offered Afghanistan a good chance for stabilization, thereby eliminating a very serious source of global terrorist threats. “The Turkic states have made very serious and successful efforts to promote peace and global security, and Hungary intends to contribute to this with its pro-peace policy,” he added.
“The Organization of Turkic States is a successful organization in every respect, and Hungary has benefited greatly from this cooperation so far. In the interest of Hungary's success, we are keen to further strengthen our cooperation,” he said in conclusion.
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