Kazakhstan Bridge to Central Asia, Says Kover

Budapest, October 20 (MTI) – Kazakhstan could act as Hungary’s bridge to central Asia in the same way as Hungary could do the same for Kazakhstan in central Europe and the EU, Laszlo Kover, the speaker of parliament, said today.

Kover told the press after meeting his Kazakh counterpart, Kabibulla Dzhakupov, that the development of ties between the two countries had accelerated in recent years thanks to Hungary’s new “opening to the East” strategy and Kazakhstan’s increasing political, security and economic significance in central Asia.

He cited his visit last October to the Kazakh capital Astana and Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s meeting at the ASEM summit last week with Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev.

Kover noted that Hungary would open a new honorary consulate in Kazakhstan within a few weeks to represent the interests of several hundred Hungarian engineers and workers in the country.

Dzhakupov said he had earlier met President Janos Ader and discussed Hungary’s support for Kazakhstan’s bid to become a permanent member of the UN Security Council in 2017-2018.

Dzhakupov added that a strategic partnership agreement had been signed between the two countries this year, covering areas such as the economy, trade and culture. Bilateral trade is currently around 200 million dollars and this is expected to grow, he said.

Photo: MTI – Zoltan Mathe

Source: http://mtva.hu/hu/hungary-matters