Deputy Prime Minister – Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan Murat Nurtleu held talks with Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó, who arrived in Astana on an official visit, El.kz reports citing Kazakh Foreign Ministry.
This is the seventh trip of the Hungarian minister to Kazakhstan, underlining the strong and long-term nature of the relations between the two countries. It should be noted that ten years ago Minister Szijjártó made his first visit to Astana, which became a milestone in the strengthening of Kazakh-Hungarian relations.
During the talks, the parties reaffirmed their commitment to deepening the strategic partnership based on common historical roots and traditional friendship. They discussed a wide range of issues of bilateral cooperation, including key areas of political, economic, energy and cultural-humanitarian interaction.
The foreign ministers reviewed the implementation of agreements reached following the visits of Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev to Budapest in November 2024 and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán to Astana in November 2023.
Particular attention has been paid to the further development of trade and economic relations. Last year, the volume of trade turnover increased by 4.4% and reached almost 200 million US dollars. The parties agreed to take additional measures to achieve the goal set by the leaders of the two states to increase the trade turnover to 1 billion dollars.
The volume of Hungarian direct investment in the Kazakh economy has exceeded 370 million dollars. At present, 16 joint projects worth a total of 700 million dollars are being implemented, including in the energy and industrial sectors.
For instance, Hungarian oil and gas company “MOL” has invested 200 million dollars in the development of the huge “Rozhkovskoye” gas condensate field in western Kazakhstan. The “Globalia” company is building solar power plants in several regions of Kazakhstan, while the “UBM” holding will start this year construction of three animal feed production plants worth 62 million dollars.
Key initiatives to deepen economic cooperation were also discussed. These include the opening of branches of Hungarian banks in Kazakhstan, the construction of a multimodal cargo terminal in Budapest, increasing the supply of Kazakh oil to Hungary, and establishing exports of uranium and critical minerals.
An important step in this direction will be the rapid establishment of a joint Investment Fund.
“Hungary is a brotherly country for us, and we attach great importance to our strategic partnership. We strive to complement trade and economic cooperation with concrete and meaningful results,” Kazakhstan’s Foreign Minister stated.
In his turn, the Hungarian Minister reiterated Budapest’s commitment to deepening bilateral relations with Astana not only in the political sphere, but also in the economic, investment and cultural areas. “We are committed to expanding cooperation with Kazakhstan and are confident that this will benefit both countries,” Minister Szijjártó said.
The parties also emphasized the importance of cooperation in science and education. The Hungarian side provides 250 scholarships annually for Kazakh students to study in Hungary (currently, about 1,000 Kazakh students are enrolled in Hungarian universities).
In addition, a direct air connection between Shymkent and Budapest will be launched in May 2025, significantly strengthening ties between the two friendly nations and creating new opportunities for cooperation in various fields.
Discussing pressing regional and global issues, including conflicts in Europe and the Middle East, the foreign ministers of Kazakhstan and Hungary expressed their hope for the early establishment and development of peaceful and constructive dialogue between the conflicting parties.
Minister Nurtleu reaffirmed Kazakhstan’s strong commitment to the principles of the UN Charter and the country’s balanced and pragmatic foreign policy aimed at resolving conflicts exclusively by peaceful means.
Both ministers also exchanged views on prospects for further interaction within the UN, OSCE and other multilateral organizations.
Noting Hungary’s active participation in the Organization of Turkic States (OTS), the parties underlined that the forthcoming informal OTS Summit in Budapest will be an important step in strengthening cooperation among countries united by a common Turkic heritage.
The talks were followed by the signing of memorandums of cooperation between diplomatic academies and in the field of Hungarian language studies.