FM Szijjarto: We need closer cooperation with Central Asia

An Uzbek delegation will visit Budapest next week, Hungary's Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade announced.

Szijjártó Péter külgazdasági és külügyminiszter New Yorkban találkozott Sherzod Kudbiyev üzbég gazdasági miniszterrel 2023. július 18-án. Fotó: BORSOS MATYAS Forrás: Facebook/Szijjártó Péter

Uzbekistan held presidential elections on 9 July, resulting in a landslide victory for Shavkat Mirziyoyev, who will lead the Central Asian country for the next seven years. Miklos Sarkozy, associate professor at the Karoli Gaspar University of the Reformed Church in Hungary (KRE), told Magyar Nemzet earlier that Hungarian-Uzbek relations are excellent, especially in light of the fact that the building of relations between the two countries has only started in earnest in the last ten years. The Hungarian embassy in Tashkent was inaugurated in 2013, and Uzbekistan's embassy in Budapest opened its doors this spring.

The Hungarian OTP bank entering the Uzbek market by becoming the majority shareholder of Ipoteka Bank last year also marks a milestone in Hungarian-Uzbek relations.

Cover photo: Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Peter Szijjarto meets Uzbek Minister of Economy Sherzod Kudbiev in New York on 18 July 2023 (Photo: Facebook/Peter Szijjarto)