Institute for Foreign Affairs and Trade renewed, renamed

The Institute for Foreign Affairs and Trade (Külügyi és Külgazdasági Intézet) will be restructured and renewed under the government’s decision with the aim to better support Hungary’s foreign policy concept focused on promoting national interests, the government’s information centre (KTK) said on Monday.

The institute will operate under the name the Hungarian Institute for Foreign Affairs (Magyar Külügyi Intézet) with a staff of researchers doubled, KTK told MTI. It will operate under the oversight of the prime minister’s political director to support the prime minister’s work by preparing analyses, reports and proposals.

KTK said the institute’s renewal was necessary as “Hungary in 2020 entered an age of dangers in which understanding the transformation of the world has never been as important as it is today”. “The war in a neigbouring country, the formation of blocks among countries and the aim of promoting Hungary’s international visibility call for giving increased weight to a national interest-based foreign policy and developing the intellectual support base that can provide effective answers to the challenges we face,” KTK said.