Hungarian minister happy: eastern investors in the country overtook western ones
Cooperation with the Organisation of Turkic States (OTS) brings Hungary a big competitive edge, Hungary’s minister of foreign affairs and trade said on Friday in Samarkand.
Europe is now grappling to ensure its current and future energy supplies, Peter Szijjarto said at the summit. “If we look at the facts without political and ideological bias, it is clear that energy supplies cannot be ensured without the Turkic states,” he said.
The gas pipeline reaching Hungary and Europe via Turkey, Bulgaria and Serbia is the only safe and technically sound route to the region operating at full capacity these days, he said. “An operational TurkStream is key to Hungary’s energy security,” he said.
Hungary will also import “green electricity” from Azerbaijan, in line with an agreement between that country and the EU to import electricity via Georgia, Romania and Hungary, he said.
The OTS summit adopted a decision on setting up an investment fund, in which Hungary will also participate, he said.
Read alsoOrbán in Uzbekistan: Organisation of Turkic States a “forum of peace”
Drawing investment to Hungary is a key strategy to stave off European recession, and eastern investors in the country overtook western ones in 2018, he said.
He noted that the past 12 years have seen trade revenue between Hungary and the Turkic states growing two-and-a-half-fold, to 4.5 billion dollars.
The Organisation of Turkic States comprises Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkey and Uzbekistan, with Hungary and Turkmenistan as observers.
Read alsoOrbán cabinet supports Kazakh president who gives shoot-to-kill orders to quell protests
Source: MTI
As long as the Government of Serbia, and the majority of Serbians are so tightly aligned to Putin’s Russia, a lot of wise people would tend to think that no gas pipeline would be safe going through Serbia.
It would be almost like building a pipeline through Lukashenko’s Belarus, albeit Serbia is not joined at the hips as tight as Lukashenko to Putin.
…Interesting, how in Serbia, the pendulum has swung towards Russia since Tito died, and conversely, away from Russia in Bulgaria.
Ps. I would really think twice about importing electricity through Georgia until Georgia is a member NATO, and we know that almost nothing really has happened since 1994, and Georgia’s membership in NATO is going to present another almost insurmountable hurdle. Putin has not given up his plan to realise a Greater Russia to be written in history books as his achievement. As long as Putin is in power none of the former S.S.R.’s are safe, and neither are it’s former communist satelites, Hungary in particular.