President of Kazakh parliament visits Hungary
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Hungary’s Speaker of Parliament, László Kövér, has received Kazakh counterpart Yerlan Koshanov, who is in Budapest on an official visit.
Kövér said Central Asia was a Hungarian foreign policy priority and relations were based on mutual respect, focusing on economic, trade and energy cooperation.
The office of parliament on Monday quoted the speaker as saying that Hungary was proud of its 2010 policy of opening up to the East, saying “our interests coincide” in terms of European energy security, action against terrorism and the consequences of climate change.
He said that under its EU presidency, Hungary will encourage the bloc to tighten cooperation with Kazakhstan, adding that it was in no one’s interest for “an iron curtain to separate the Eastern and Western halves of the world.”
The stability of Kazakhstan and the Commonwealth of Turkic States “is vitally important in this dangerous world”,
he said, adding that regional instability undermined global stability.
He noted that Hungary and Kazakhstan are celebrating the 10th anniversary of their strategic partnership this year, a decade of mutually “beneficial cooperation” and “fast-developing friendly relations”.
Regarding parliamentary ties, Kövér referred to the continuous development of cooperation both on a bilateral basis and within the framework of the Parliamentary Assembly of Turkish-Speaking States.
There was a US Republican Party senate delegation in Budapest on Oct 3rd and 4th “intending to engage with Hungarian government officials and representatives of civil society” but it looks like the Fidesz government refused to meet with them. Of course the president of Kazakstan is lavished with attention and Sergei Lavrov can meet with anyone in Fidesz at a moment’s notice. From the US Embassy in Budapest: “After meeting with Hungarian civil society leaders, delegation leader Senator Jerry Moran said: “Our delegation and many of our congressional colleagues are increasingly concerned by Hungary’s deepening and expanding relationship with Russia and the continued erosion of its democratic institutions. Hungary also continues to disregard the concerns raised by its allies and partners about deepening its ties with China. It is in our shared interest for our countries to work closely together. We urge Hungary to listen to the concerns of its allies and to act on them.”
The Senate delegation was led by Senator Moran and also included Senators Susan Collins, John Cornyn, John Boozman, and John Hoeven.”