Minister of State for Security Policy and International Cooperation István Mikola said in his interview with MTI on Friday in Budapest that the diversification of energy sources and within that the diversification of gas sources is both the interest of Turkey and Hungary.

The Minister of State held discussions on economic and energy policy issues in recent days in Turkey and Vietnam and received the Mongolian State Secretary responsible for Cultural and Scientific Affairs.

István Mikola said that Turkey’s energy needs had increased considerably and the fundamental interest of the country is to gain access to gas sources in the Russian, Azerbaijani, Iranian and Eurasian regions; the country is particularly interested in the diversification of resources. The main topic of the international conference held in Ankara was the consultation on plans about the Turkish Stream replacing the South Stream system of gas pipelines, which is expected to transport 63 billion cubic metres of gas via 4 pipelines through the Black Sea, he said.

It is similarly of utmost importance for Hungary to be able to receive gas arriving via the planned pipeline since huge storage capacities have been established in recent years. This also places regional responsibility on Hungary, he added. According to the Minister of State, it must be avoided that Hungary ends up relying on only one source of energy; therefore, it is very important to have competition among supplier countries. He added that a Meeting of Foreign Ministers will be held on 7 April in Hungary where the country’s opportunities and role in the planning and the operation of the Turkish Stream will be discussed with the ministers of Greece, Macedonia, Serbia, and Turkey’s Minister for European Affairs.

Gas will be transported through the first pipeline from the end of 2016 at best so this is a long-term concept, he added. The Minister of State negotiated with the representatives of several Hungarian companies also in Vietnam where he agreed on an investment worth USD 360 million to be implemented by means of a tied aid credit. A water purification system based on Hungarian technology is planned to be built on the Red River, and an agreement was reached to build, and to organise the operation of a 500-bed hospital with oncology facilities in South Vietnam.

As regards the next step of the investments, the Minister of State indicated that the tenders of both projects are expected to be launched after the conclusion of the framework agreements, and Eximbank is ready to provide the funding. István Mikola mentioned that the development of human resources is of utmost importance and a sensitive issue in Vietnam; the reason why he requested for more students to be able to study at Hungarian institutions of higher education. He recalled that during President János Áder’s visit to the country last autumn, the increase of the Vietnamese quota of the Stipendium Hungaricum scholarship from 50 to 100 students per year had also been mentioned.

Vietnam continues to remain Hungary’s important trading partner: bilateral trade turnover has increased by more than 40 percent in a year, reaching USD 85 million according to the latest data, the Minister of State said. As far as the Mongolian-Hungarian relations are concerned, he noted that shared historical roots are highly important for both countries. An economic joint committee meeting will be held in Ulan Bator already this year, he said.

Similarly to the Vietnamese negotiating partners, the Mongolian party has also shown great interest in the extension of Hungarian scholarship opportunities, so the envisaged quota of Mongolian students to participate in the Stipendium Hungaricum scholarship programme has been increased to 20. Significant mining activities are taking place in the Gobi desert in Mongolia: there is a huge demand for qualified engineers, miners and health professionals, he added.

István Mikola recalled that a biomass combustion plant had been established in Hungary by Ulan Bator, which was a highly respected Hungarian institution but its technology has now become outdated, so its refurbishment had also been discussed. There would be demand for the construction of a food safety laboratory as the number of large animals – cows, horse, cattle – is multiple times more than the population, exceeding 40 million. Mongolia is a "giant meat store", it has an enormous GMO-free livestock, he said. If this livestock could be registered and vaccinated one by one and meat processing could be modernised, this would mean enormous economic success for Mongolia as several markets would open up to its products. Having the required food safety technologies, Hungary could contribute to the realisation of this project, the Minister of State added.

(Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade)