Hungary plans to join Eurasian Development Bank in eastward diplomatic push

Hungary plans to join the Eurasian Development Bank (EDB) to open up new financing sources for Hungarian companies in Asia, Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó said on Tuesday during a visit to Kazakhstan, according to his official Facebook page.

The move is part of the “eastern opening” diplomacy of Hungary’s nationalist government that also includes forging close relations with China, which is building a major railway line connecting Budapest and Belgrade.

“This (joining the EDB) aims to open up new financing sources for Hungarian firms to help them be even more successful in Eurasian markets,” Szijjarto said.

The EDB, founded by Russia and Kazakhstan in 2006, aims to promote economic growth in its member states, extend trade ties among them and support Eurasian integration through investment.

It currently has six members, all former Soviet republics.

In another demonstration of Hungary’s eastward tilt, China plans to open a huge campus of the Shanghai-based Fudan University in Budapest within a few years, the first in the European Union.