ASTANA — Yerlan Koshanov, Chairman of the Mazhilis, the lower house of Kazakhstan’s Parliament, made an official visit to Hungary on Oct. 6, where he met with the country’s leadership in a significant step toward deepening bilateral relations, according to the Mazhilis press service.
Yerlan Koshanov and Tamás Sulyok discussed trade, economic, cultural and humanitarian ties. Photo credit: Mazhilis’ press service.
In Budapest, Koshanov held discussions with the President of Hungary, Tamás Sulyok, on a wide range of topics aimed at promoting friendship and cooperation between the two countries. Their talks focused on trade, economic, cultural and humanitarian ties.
“The development of cooperation with Hungary is one of the priority areas of Kazakhstan’s foreign policy. Since the establishment of diplomatic relations between our countries, Kazakh-Hungarian cooperation has reached the level of a strategic partnership, which is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year,” Koshanov said.
During the meeting with the Speaker of the Hungarian National Assembly, László Kövér, the parties discussed the current state and prospects of inter-parliamentary relations.
“Hungary is Kazakhstan’s reliable friend, a fraternal state and a strategic partner. Therefore, we are interested in strengthening inter-parliamentary cooperation. We know that this desire is mutual. Inter-parliamentary friendship groups are effectively working in our legislative bodies. We also closely engage in a multilateral format within the framework of international organizations,” said Koshanov, encouraging Hungary to further expand the partnership.
Following the meeting, Koshanov and Kövér signed an agreement on cooperation between the Kazakh Mazhilis and the National Assembly of Hungary. Koshanov invited Kövér to pay an official visit to Kazakhstan.
While in Budapest, Koshanov and other delegation members laid flowers at the monument to Abai Kunanbaiuly, located on Astana Street in Budapest, met with Kazakh students, and participated in the opening of a sculpture honoring the Kazakh musical instrument, the dombra, in the city of Karcag.
According to the National Bank of Kazakhstan, Hungarian companies have invested $320 million in Kazakhstan since 2005. There are 29 companies with Hungarian participation and their representative offices in Kazakhstan, as well as more than 40 joint ventures involving Hungarian participation.
Hungary is the only Central European country to join the Organization of Turkic States (OTS) as an observer member, having done so in 2018.
In a recent interview with The Astana Times, Hungarian Ambassador to Kazakhstan, Otto Ivan Rona, spoke about the strong bilateral ties and the 10th anniversary of a strategic partnership agreement with Kazakhstan.
