Kyrgyz President Japarov held talks with Hungarian President Novák

Hungary-Kyrgyzstan economic relations harbour great potential, President Katalin Novák said after meeting Sadyr Japarov, her Kyrgyz counterpart, in Budapest on Monday.

At a joint press conference, Novák noted that they signed several agreements on various areas of bilateral cooperation.

A strategic agreement was signed to enable effective action against terrorism, while others aim to strengthen ties in several areas, including in tourism, agriculture, water management and education, Novák said.

The president said Hungary wanted to nurture pragmatic and positive relations with Central Asian countries.

Hungary, she said, welcomed the rapprochement between the European Union and Kyrgyzstan, and she called for an agreement on enhanced cooperation and partnership to be signed as soon as possible. Hungary is working to speed up the process, she added.

The president said that

a sign of strengthening ties was that two years ago Hungary opened an embassy in Kyrgyzstan.

On the subject of student financing, she welcomed the removal of obstacles in the way of Erasmus scholarships for Hungarian students, while Kyrgyz students have the opportunity to win 200 Stipendium Hungaricum scholarships.