President of Kazakh parliament visits Hungary

Hungary’s Speaker of Parliament, László Kövér, has received Kazakh counterpart Yerlan Koshanov, who is in Budapest on an official visit.

Kövér said Central Asia was a Hungarian foreign policy priority and relations were based on mutual respect, focusing on economic, trade and energy cooperation.

The office of parliament on Monday quoted the speaker as saying that Hungary was proud of its 2010 policy of opening up to the East, saying “our interests coincide” in terms of European energy security, action against terrorism and the consequences of climate change.

He said that under its EU presidency, Hungary will encourage the bloc to tighten cooperation with Kazakhstan, adding that it was in no one’s interest for “an iron curtain to separate the Eastern and Western halves of the world.”

The stability of Kazakhstan and the Commonwealth of Turkic States “is vitally important in this dangerous world”,

he said, adding that regional instability undermined global stability.

He noted that Hungary and Kazakhstan are celebrating the 10th anniversary of their strategic partnership this year, a decade of mutually “beneficial cooperation” and “fast-developing friendly relations”.

Regarding parliamentary ties, Kövér referred to the continuous development of cooperation both on a bilateral basis and within the framework of the Parliamentary Assembly of Turkish-Speaking States.

The speakers were in agreement that sanctions against Russia led “nowhere”, while UN resolutions, diplomacy and international law provided the only viable path to a peaceful resolution. Kosanov said Kazakhstan would be glad to host peace negotiations.

He also thanked Hungary for providing scholarships for 250 Kazakh university students who wish to study in Hungary.

The two speakers signed a cooperation agreement between the Hungarian assembly and the Kazakh lower house.

Kazakhstan held a referendum on Sunday on whether to build its first nuclear power plant, and more than 71% of voters backed the idea, which was backed by President Kazim-Yomart Tokayev’s cabinet as a way to phase out polluting coal-fired power plants. This is a key change in the country’s energy strategy, which has faced significant challenges due to ageing energy infrastructure and dependence on Russia.