“Hungary has always worked in the interests of cooperation between East and West, as also proven by the opening of the Turkic Council’s office in Budapest”, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó said on Thursday in Budapest.

At the ceremony, the Minister stressed: changes of amazing pace and speed are taking place in the world that surrounds us, a new world order has come about, and like any new situation, this is also dividing the countries of the world into winners and losers”. “The winners can be those who stand up for themselves, who consider the enforcement of their national interests as a compass, who preserve their cultural, religious and historical heritage, and who insist on their identity”, he explained. “We are proud of our historical, cultural and religious heritage, and of the fact that despite all the pressures we have been able to preserve Hungary as a Hungarian country and our safe home”, he emphasised. “We are often referred to as the most eastern western people or the westernmost eastern people. In the past, this was stated with an ironic edge, but today the world has changed, a new world order has come about, and the pace of global economic transformation is also being dictated by the East, not just by the West”, the Foreign Minister explained. “Hungary bases its foreign policy on the principle of mutual respect; it treats its partners with respect and expects the same from them”, he stated. “We are also building our relationship with the members of the Turkic Council on mutual respect”, he declared.

According to Mr. Szijjártó, as a Central European country, it is in our interests for East and West to be able to cooperate on the basis of mutual respect. “The members of the Turkic Council are playing an increasingly important role in Hungarian foreign policy efforts”, the Minister said, adding: “We provide a total of 675 scholarship places at Hungarian universities to the member states of the Council”. The Hungarian Foreign Minister thanked the Turkic Council for establishing its first European representation in Budapest. “The fact that another international organisation has opened a representation in the Hungarian capital is also increasing the international role of Budapest”, he stated.

Kyrgyz Foreign Minister Kyrgyz Aidarbekov said that the work performed at the newly opened mission will bring success in building the foreign relations of the countries concerned. “The countries are committed to strengthening cooperation”, he said. Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov said that opening the mission will take cooperation between Hungary and the Turkish Council to a new level. “Hungary is committed to closer ties with council members, as evidenced by the fact that it has provided a home for the representation”, he explained. Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu spoke about the fact that Turkey highly appreciates the willingness of the Hungarian Government to have the representation opened in Budapest, adding that in his opinion “The Turkish Council is an excellent platform for enhancing cooperation”.

Kazakhstan’s Ambassador to Budapest Nurbakh Rustemov welcomed Hungary's position od wanting to reinforce its cooperation with members of the Turkic Council. “Together, they can face the challenges more effectively”, he said. According to Baghdad Amreev, Secretary General of the Turkic Council, the opening of a representative office in Budapest is clear proof of the organisation's success, and a historic moment. “Opening a representative office not only strengthens their relationship with Hungary, but also increases the importance of the organisation in all respects, opening up new opportunities for cooperation with Hungary and Europe”, he said. The Turkic Council, a geopolitical organization, was established in 2009 and its members are Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkey and Uzbekistan., Hungary has had observer status in the Council since 2018.

(Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade/MTI)