Asia

Foreign minister: Uzbekistan ‘key partner’ in Central Asia

hungary uzbekistan

Uzbekistan is Hungary’s “key economic partner” in Central Asia, Péter Szijjártó, the minister of foreign affairs and trade, said on Friday after a video conference with the Uzbek minister for investment and foreign economic relations.

The Uzbek market is of interest for many Hungarian businesses and they are served well by excellent political relations between the two countries, Szijjártó said.

A “significant” deal was reached last week on simplifying and speeding up registration of Hungarian medicines on the Uzbek market, he said. Referring to Hungarian drug company Richter, he noted that Richter has been present on the Uzbek market for 25 years and 80 of its products have been registered there.

Now, additional drugs are planned to enter the Uzbek market, adding to pharma exports worth 12 million US dollars in the first half of the year, he said.

Also, a Hungarian company financed by Eximbank is supplying 3,000 Hungarian ATMs to Uzbek banks, while preparations are afoot to advance three joint Hungarian-Uzbek investments in the food and farming industries related to cattle breeding, cereal processing and the construction of a vegetable oil plant, he said.

Uzbekistan plans to build a nuclear power plant with the involvement of Russia’s Rosatom, he noted, adding that Hungary will participate in the training of future Uzbek nuclear engineers and specialists. The number of scholarship students from Uzbekistan studying in Hungary will increase to 100 a year from next year, he added.

Szijjártó said Hungary supports Uzbekistan’s talks with the European Union on expanding its partnership agreement as well as the country’s accession to the World Trade Organisation.

He noted that bilateral trade grew by 21 percent in the first eight months of this year.

Uzbek-Hungarian business forum in Tashkent
Read alsoUzbek-Hungarian business forum in Tashkent: Hungary able to export over EUR 100 bn annually

Hungary-Indonesia trade turnover up 29 pc over ten years, says FM Szijjártó

Daily News Hungary

The annual trade turnover between Hungary and Indonesia has risen by 29 percent over the last ten years, Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó said on Tuesday, adding that this showed that the Hungarian government’s policy of opening to the East was working.

Szijjártó, who is currently in quarantine having contracted coronavirus, told an online forum that Hungary and Indonesia had recently made progress in cooperation in the areas of water management and food processing. Hungary has opened a 36 billion forint (EUR 100.3m) credit line that will allow Hungarian companies to improve Indonesia’s water management solutions, he said.

Now the two countries are focused on improving their cooperation in the fields of cyber security and telecommunications, the minister said. Szijjártó encouraged Hungarian companies to make use of a new website, hunindotech.id, launched to boost business ties between the two countries.

Hungary’s Eximbank is prepared to provide the financial framework needed to advance cooperation between Hungarian and Indonesian firms, he said. Szijjártó encouraged Hungarian companies to be active on the Indonesian market, arguing that it was one of the largest markets in all of Southeast Asia and one of the fastest growing regions in the world.

Hungary has increased the number of scholarships it offers to Indonesian university students from an annual 50 to 100, he said.

The minister praised Indonesia’s contributions to the resolution of global affairs, noting its role in peacekeeping missions. Szijjártó noted that Hungary had supported Indonesia’s bid to become a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council.

Commenting on bilateral ties, he noted that the two countries recently marked the 65th anniversary of the establishment of their diplomatic ties.

Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi said that although the fight against the novel coronavirus pandemic was still ongoing, it had helped highlight the potential in the digital economy. She cited UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres as saying that more than 95 percent of the world’s population were now covered by mobile networks. Also, some 441 million people in the member countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), or 65 percent of the region’s population, are now using the internet, she added.

The minister said

Indonesia had a “very good” digital ecosystem, adding that its value could reach 133 billion US dollars by 2025.

Indonesia registered 2,001 startups in 2019, the fifth largest amount in the world, she said.

Retno praised the timing of the hunindotech.id website, saying it would provide significant opportunities for Hungary and Indonesia to strengthen their cooperation and present products and investments that serve them both.

Péter Szíjjártó, Hungary
Read alsoCambodia shuts schools because of Hungarian Foreign Minister

Cambodia shuts schools because of Hungarian Foreign Minister

Péter Szíjjártó, Hungary

Cambodia takes precautionary measures: schools in the capital and surrounding areas will be shut down for two weeks as Hungarian Minister for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Péter Szijjártó tested positive for Covid-19 following his visit to Cambodia last week.

Cambodia’s schools just finally reopened with limited class sizes and hours last Monday, after being closed since March due to the coronavirus situation but according to the statement the Cambodian Education Ministry released on Sunday, as a precautionary measure, public and private schools in Phnom Penh, the capital and the surrounding province of Kandal will have to close again for two weeks, AP reports. Students will continue with online learning, just like they did earlier.

According to the Cambodian Education ministry’s statement, the shutdown is necessary because they do not have enough information on the parents of those students who had direct or indirect contact with Szijjártó during his visit last week.

Szijjártó tested positive on Tuesday upon his arrival to Thailand, and after he visited Cambodia. Before returning to Hungary on Wednesday, he was placed in quarantine, and all his further meetings in Bangkok were cancelled.

Cambodian Prime Minister, Hun Sen announces on Saturday that one of Szijjártó’s Cambodian bodyguards has tested positive for Covid-19. He said, among some 900 people who were part of Szijjártó’s visit, the one bodyguard was the only one to test positive.

Hun Sen and four Cambodian cabinet ministers are also in quarantine now after they met Szijjártó on the same day he tested positive. As Hun Sen said, he has tested negative and will strictly follow his country’s coronavirus guidelines and quarantine for fourteen days.

Meanwhile, the Hungarian Foreign Minister has been in quarantine for seven days now, but he has not stopped working. Szijjártó keeps the public informed through his social media; in today’s’ Facebook video diary he mentioned, he is still experiencing symptoms: “I currently feel like I have proper flu but I hope it won’t get any more serious than this”.

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Read alsoCoronavirus: Hungary receives one million favipiravir tablets from China

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Read alsoCoronavirus in Hungary: 77 hospitals to receive coronavirus patients

Hungary opens a new consulate in Cambodia

cambodia Hungary consulate phnom penh

The government wants to give new impetus to Hungarian-Cambodian relations with the re-opening of a Hungarian consulate in Phnom Penh, Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó said on Tuesday.

Cambodia established diplomatic ties with Hungary 65 years ago, two years after winning its independence. The Hungarian government 25 years ago decided to close its embassy in Phnom Penh, Szijjártó told a press conference.

Now the current government has decided to open a diplomatic mission in the Cambodian capital in the framework of its Eastern opening policy, which will operate as part of the Hungarian embassy in Hanoi, he said.

The consulate is expected to boost bilateral relations which Hungary wants to build on mutual trust and respect, the foreign minister said.

The government will support Hungarian companies seeking new opportunities in the southeast Asian market and has created conditions to boost bilateral economic relations with Cambodia, he said.

“Most important of them is our presence in form of a consulate which will serve major economic diplomacy objectives,” Szijjártó said.

In addition, Hungary’s Eximbank has opened a 50 million dollar credit line to finance Hungarian-Cambodian business cooperation, he said.

Szijjártó noted the bilateral water management, agricultural and aviation agreements the two countries will sign during the day in presence of Hun Sen, Cambodia’s prime minister. A meeting of the Hungarian-Cambodian mixed economic committee has also been convened for the end of November, he said.

Further, Szijjártó said

the Hungarian government is ready to launch a 150 million dollar tied aid credit programme to support Hungarian investments in Cambodia’s rural development, digitalisation, food processing modernisation and water management.

In education cooperation, Szijjártó noted that Hungary would double the current 15 state scholarship grants to Cambodian students to study at a Hungarian university.

During his visit, Szijjártó held talks with Foreign Minister Prak Sokhonn, Economy and Finance Minister Aun Pornmoniroth, Trade Minister Pan Sorasak and lawmaker Suos Yara.

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Read alsoHungarian embassy’s new consular section inaugurated in Hanoi

Militants storm Kabul University, leaving 31 killed, 24 injured

Daily News Hungary

Anti-government militants’ attacks have left at least 31 dead and 24 injured on Monday, as the armed insurgents targeted Kabul University and security personnel elsewhere throughout the day, officials said.

The armed militants in a brazen attack stormed Kabul University on Monday, triggering a gun battle, which left 22 dead including three attackers, and 22 others injured, Interior Ministry spokesman Tareq Arian said.

In talks with Xinhua, Arian confirmed that 19 persons were killed due to the militants’ attack and 22 others injured. However, he didn’t identify the victims, saying an investigation is underway to determine the victims’ identity if they were students.

However, he blamed the Taliban group for the attack, claiming the Taliban outfit is “behind the crime.”

In the meantime, locals at the site believed that the number of casualties could be higher than reported.

Militants’ attack in the shape of roadside bombing claimed the lives of seven persons, all civilians in the southern Helmand province on Monday, provincial governor Mohammad Yasin Khan told reporters.

According to the governor, a mine planted by Taliban militants on a road in Bolan area outside Helmand provincial capital Lashkar Gah struck a mini-bus Monday morning, killing seven people including women and children.

Similarly, a car bomb went off next to a security base in Zarmat district of eastern Paktia province in the wee hours of Monday, killing two security personnel and wounding two others, provincial police chief Lutfullah Kamran said.

In the meantime, a spokesman for Defense Ministry, Fawad Aman told local media on Monday evening that the Taliban outfit has launched attacks on 27 out of the country’s 34 provinces over the past 24 hours to gain more ground amid the peace talks in Doha, but all the attacks have been beaten back.

7 killed, over 120 injured in bomb explosion at seminary in NW Pakistan
Read also7 students killed, over 120 injured in bomb explosion at seminary in Pakistan

7 students killed, over 120 injured in bomb explosion at seminary in Pakistan

7 killed, over 120 injured in bomb explosion at seminary in NW Pakistan

Seven students were killed and over 120 people including students were injured when a bomb went off inside a seminary in capital city Peshawar of Pakistan’s northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province on Tuesday morning, hospital sources and police said.

Tariq Burki, associate hospital director of Lady Reading Hospital in Peshawar told Xinhua that they have received seven bodies and 90 injured people at the hospital while there are some 30 more under treatment in other hospitals.

The official added that five among the injured suffered serious burn injuries and are in a critical condition.

“Fifty percent wounded people we received at the hospital got burn injuries, and others were hit by ball bearings and other stuff in the explosion,” Burki said, adding that a state of emergency has been declared at the hospital.

The explosion happened with the detonation of an improvised explosive device concealed inside a school bag, Senior Superintendent of City Police in Peshawar Waqar Ahmad told Xinhua.

The bag carrying about five to eight kg of explosives was placed by militants inside the seminary, he said, adding that further investigation is being made into the incident and they are trying their best to nab the militants involved in the incident.

“The area where the blast happened is among the vulnerable areas of the city. Police teams frequently patrol in the area, and we also issue advisories to residents to keep an eye on their surroundings and tell us about any suspected person or activity. Tuesday’s incident was a security lapse on a soft target, and we have enhanced security on other soft and sensitive areas across the city in the wake of the incident,” Ahmad said.

A large number of students inside the seminary were attending their routine morning classes when the explosion happened inside one of the halls of the institution.

Sher Gul, zonal head of rescue organization Edhi Foundation in Peshawar, told Xinhua that the age of the victim students were between 15 to 18 years, some of whom were badly burnt and injured when they reached at the site to conduct rescue work.

Gul added that fire erupted in the seminary after the blast due to some chemical used in the explosive device, which was contained by the rescue teams and volunteers from the colony, but it seriously affected the students and the building.

He said that after the completion of the rescue work, police sealed the seminary and its adjoining area for investigation.

Meanwhile, Kamran Bangash, the special advisor to the chief minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on information technology, said that

a threat alert was issued by the intelligence agencies for possible terrorist attacks in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan provinces, adding that after Tuesday’s incident the security in Peshawar and across the province has been further beefed up.

Condemnations poured in at the attack from the country’s Prime Minister Imran Khan, President Arif Alvi, Chief Minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Mahmood Khan, provincial ministers, federal ministers, opposition leaders and the general public.

The Pakistani prime minister expressed sorrow over the loss of precious lives in the incident and wished a speedy recovery of the injured people, the Prime Minister Office said in a statement.

No group or individual has claimed the attack yet.

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Read alsoParis stabbing attack an act of terrorism: French minister

90 Mongolian nationals return home from Hungary amid pandemic

child mongolia

A passenger plane chartered by the Mongolian government to repatriate its nationals from Hungary amid the COVID-19 pandemic arrived here on Monday, according to Mongolia’s State Emergency Commission (SEC).

The chartered flight from Budapest to Ulan Bator landed at the Buyant-Ukhaa International Airport on Monday afternoon, with 90 passengers onboard, the SEC said in a statement.

The repatriated consisted of pregnant women, children, students and those with financial or other problems, the SEC said, adding they will be isolated at designated facilities for 21 days.

Following its suspension of international commercial flights during the pandemic,

Mongolia has repatriated over 26,000 nationals via chartered flights, trains and buses from different parts of the world, according to the commission.

As of Monday, Mongolia has reported a total of 339 COVID-19 cases, all of which were imported.

No local transmissions or deaths have been reported in the country so far.

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Read alsoCoronavirus in Hungary: The death toll rose to 1,472

New Saudi economic strategy offers opportunities for Hungarian companies, says FM Szijjártó in Riyadh

Hungary and Saudi Arabia had similar views on the importance of border protection

The new economic strategy of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia offers excellent opportunities for Hungarian companies in areas where they traditionally perform well, Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó said in Riyadh on Wednesday, after talks with Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud, his Saudi counterpart.

The first results are already clear to see, Szijjártó said. The Hungarian government works to create opportunities for as many Hungarian companies as possible on the Saudi market, Szijjártó said.

In view of changes in world economy and the increasing role of alternative, sustainable energy resources, oil-rich Saudi Arabia has launched a “grandiose” scheme to bolster its economic performance independently from oil, he said.

Szijjártó cited

the import of Hungarian water management technology as an example of potential investments.

An investment protection agreement has been finalised and the Hungarian Eximbank has opened a 700 million dollar credit line for Hungarian companies in the region, he said.

Szijjártó said that Hungary and Saudi Arabia had similar views on the importance of border protection, on eliminating the root causes of migration, the fight against people smuggling and against religious extremism and radicalism.

The two countries will continue to support each other in international organisations in issues regarding illegal migration, he said.

Szijjártó also met Trade Minister Majid bin Abdullah Al Qasabi, Transport Minister Saleh bin Nasser Al-Jasser, Investment Minister Khalid A. Al-Falih, and Abdulrahman Al-Fadhli, the minister for environment, water and agriculture.

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Read alsoHungarian embassy’s new consular section inaugurated in Hanoi

New regular air service to start between China, Hungary

china hungary flag

A new air service is operating between Zhengzhou and Budapest three times a week to help relaunch fast and unhindered trade between China and central Europe, an official of the ministry of innovation and technology said on Wednesday.

The first flight operated by Universal Translink Airline (UTA) has already landed in Liszt Ferenc International in Budapest, State Secretary Tamás Schanda said in a statement. The service will help the acquisition of products from China for protection against the novel coronavirus and also provide access for Hungarian companies to the Chinese markets, he added.

The flights will start from Zhengzhou and the return services from Budapest will enable the transport of Hungarian goods to the Far East, he added.

There will be three weekly flights between October 2020 and the end of 2021 and an additional fourth service will operate between early November and late January.

During the entire period, a total of 170 flights will be in service between China and Hungary.

As we wrote yesterday, Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei is setting up a research and development centre in Budapest, details here. 

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Read alsoGigantic investment: Chinese carmaker to come to Hungary

Hungarian embassy’s new consular section inaugurated in Hanoi

hungary vietnam cooperation

Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó on Friday inaugurated the Hungarian embassy’s new expanded consular section in Hanoi.

In his speech at the ceremony, the minister said it was “more than just symbolic” that Hungary was inaugurating the new section of the embassy during a pandemic.

Szijjártó said the inauguration was an expression on the part of the state that it had to balance its protective measures and ensuring that the country continues to function. This requires that foreign relations and diplomacy also continue to function, he said, arguing that otherwise Hungary risked wasting the efforts it had put into building these relations and falling behind in global competition.

The minister said the coronavirus pandemic was set to bring about a new global economic order “in which Hungary wants to be among the winners”. This requires the country to develop its ties and cooperation with international partners, he added.

Szijjártó said the Hungarian government’s policy of opening to the East would play a key role in making sure that Hungary was among the winners of the new global economic order. “It was clear to all of us as early as ten years ago when the government introduced this policy that the role of the East would grow,” he said.

The minister noted that last year 58 percent of worldwide investments were financed by capital from Eastern countries. Over the last ten years, Hungary’s exports to that part of the world have increased by 22 percent and its trade turnover by 25 percent, Szijjártó said. He noted that in 2019, for the first time, the majority of foreign investments into Hungary had come from a Far Eastern country.

Concerning economic ties between Hungary and Vietnam, Szijjártó said Hungarian firms were mainly carrying out water management and pharmaceutical investments, building hospitals and developing the food industry in the Southeast Asian country.

Szijjártó said a 440 million dollar tied aid programme Hungary had launched for Vietnam which he discussed with his Vietnamese counterpart, Pham Binh Minh, on Friday would further advance bilateral ties.

“Another aspect demonstrated by this occasion is that we attach deep significance to Hungarian-Vietnamese cooperation,” he said.

“Our economic cooperation has intensified to the extent that bilateral trade turnover increased by 60 percent during the first eight months of the year, when all economic indicators were down.”

Szijjártó highlighted the friendship between the two countries, noting that Hungary offers scholarships to 200 Vietnamese university students each year.

He noted that Vietnam provided Hungary with 85,000 face masks and other protective gear in the spring.

Szijjártó is scheduled to meet Vietnam’s Planning and Investment Minister Nguyen Chi Dung later in the day.

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Read alsoHungary supports Vietnam with tied aid

Hungarian doctors to perform reconstruction surgery on Bangladeshi Siamese twin

A team of Hungarian doctors will be travelling to Bangladesh to perform a delayed skull reconstruction surgery on one of the Bangladeshi Siamese twins who were separated in a series of operations last year.

The Foundation for Defenceless People, which organised last year’s operation to separate the twins, said in a statement on Friday that Rabeya’s surgery had been delayed from this past summer because of the coronavirus pandemic but could not be held off any longer.

The operation will be performed by neurosurgeon András Csókay from Budapest’s Honvéd Hospital, plastic surgeon Gergely Pataki and pediatrician Marcell Csapodi, who is leading the series of medical procedures on the twins dubbed “Operation Freedom”.

The team’s journey to Bangladesh and the procedure itself will be organised under strict epidemiological protocols, the statement said.

Rokaiya and Rabeya were separated in a 33-hour operation organised by the Foundation for Defenceless People in August 2019 in Dhaka, Bangladesh, in what was the third step of Operation Freedom. The first phase, including groundbreaking work to separate the blood flow of the brains, was conducted by a Hungarian team led by Istvan Hudak in Bangladesh in August 2018.

Preparatory surgery to separate the twins was performed in Hungary in January last year. The marathon operation in Dhaka in August was carried out by a team of 35 Hungarian doctors and assistants led by Csókay.

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Read alsoSensational! Siamese Bangladeshi twins arrive in Budapest for treatment

Hungarian companies to rehabilitate lake in Philippines

szijjátó lake in philippines

Hungarian companies will undertake a 30-billion dollar project aimed at rehabilitating Lake Laguna, the largest lake in the Philippines, including water purification and monitoring water quality, Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó said after talks in Manila on Thursday.

Hungary will also deliver water purification equipment to all regions of the Philippines contributing to that country’s drinking water supplies, the minister said following his talks with Teodoro Locsin, his Philippine counterpart, and Ramon Loopze, the minister of trade and industry.

Szijjártó noted that 400-sqkm Lake Laguna was heavily polluted, and could not be used for tourism or any other purposes. The rehabilitation project, financed from the Hungarian tied-aid programme, is expected to change that situation.

The minister said that the Hungarian government was ready to assist Hungarian companies in other countries, in view of an increasing competition for foreign market positions.

He added that Southeast Asia’s environmental challenges called for Hungarian technologies such as those employed in water management. “There is a huge demand for Hungarian water management solutions in the Philippines,” he said.

Szijjártó said he also promoted Hungarian food products in Manila. “We have a good chance that once the swine and bird flu epidemics are over, Hungarian poultry and pork products can return to the Philippine’s dynamically expanding market,” he said.

Szijjártó also urged that the European Union should resume free trade talks with the Philippines “lightning fast” and insisted that “the freer it is to export to the Philippines, the better for Hungarian companies”. He insisted that Hungary was interested in “making the global economy more open, free and fair”.

Hungary and the Philippines are in close cooperation in international organisations aimed at providing protection to persecuted Christian communities worldwide, Szijjártó said.

“We now have to make it clear that Christianity has become the most persecuted religion. As a country with a strong Christian culture we consider it as an obligation to fight for those Christian communities,” Szijjártó said.

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Read alsoHungarian woman hospitalised in Philippines tests negative for coronavirus – UPDATE

Good Singapore-Hungary ties to benefit companies, says Minister Szijjártó – UPDATE

singapore Szijjártó

Hungary has managed to develop political cooperation with Singapore based on mutual respect and friendship in recent years, and this is expected to benefit Hungarian cutting-edge industries, Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó said on Wednesday, after talks in Singapore with government representatives and business leaders.

Szijjártó met his counterpart Vivian Balakrishnan, Minister of Trade and Industry Chan Chun Sing, Office for Space Technology and Industry head David Tan, chairman at Singapore Space and Technology Limited Jonathan Hung, and heads of the company groups STE and Patec.

“Hungary and Singapore support each other in international organisations, and what’s even more important, as open economies, both support free trade agreements and fair global trading,” he said. He added that this also served the interests of the Hungarian economy, noting that Singapore is considered to be the third most open economy in the world, while Hungary is seen as the 12th most open.

Szijjártó said

the two countries shared a common position on the issue of migration and both refused to approve the United Nations Global Compact for Migration, arguing that the matter was a national competence.

Szijjártó said Hungarian companies involved in space satellites are expected to receive significant roles in developing satellite programmes in Singapore. Also, Hungarian companies specialised in artificial intelligence, data management and IT solutions are present in the Singapore market and may participate in future developments, he added. Singapore, as a world-leading finance hub, only accepts the highest level of IT and AI solutions and Hungarian companies have been able to meet this demand, he said.

Hungarian companies have also met Singapore’s food industry expectations and demands, he said, citing the fact that all goose liver imports in Singapore originate from Hungary.

An earlier ban on poultry caused by the bird flu has been lifted and Hungarian pork imports have also been approved, he added.

poultry-farm-chicken
Read alsoResumption of poultry exports to Thailand and Japan from all parts of Hungary possible

UPDATE

In a message posted on his Facebook page later on Wednesday, Szijjártó said that Patec, a Singaporean automotive supplier company, will invest 1.7 billion forints (EUR 4.7m) in a capacity expansion at its windshield wiper part plant in Miskolc, in north-east Hungary. The government will support the investment, which will create 71 jobs, with a 500 million-forint grant, he added.

Another Singaporean listed group ST Enginnering’s defence subsidiary is in advanced talks with Hungarian automotive industry supplier Raba on delivering axles for Patec’s combat vehicles, he said. Rába and STE could also establish a Hungarian joint venture to make complete combat vehicles, the minister added.

Resumption of poultry exports to Thailand and Japan from all parts of Hungary possible

poultry-farm-chicken

Thailand and Japan are allowing imports of poultry produce from all parts of Hungary from October 7 and October 8, respectively, Hungary’s food safety authority (NÉBIH) said on Monday.

The authorities of the two countries are lifting the restrictions thanks to the eradication of bird flu, NÉBIH said on its website, adding the measure applied to live poultry, meat and meat products, as well as eggs and egg products.

Many major export markets, including Thailand and Japan, only impose restrictions on areas directly affected by the disease. On Sept. 8, Hungary was declared free of the disease. The last affected areas were Bács-Kiskun and Békés counties.

EU on alert for new bird flu outbreaks

The European Center for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) on end of September urged the member states of the European Union (EU) to step up their surveillance and bio-security measures against possible outbreaks of avian influenza (bird flu) this year.

The warning came after outbreaks of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) among wild and domestic birds in western Russia and Kazakhstan over the past few months, the ECDC said in a press release. The region is a known autumn migration route for wild water birds heading to Europe, it added.

Based on past bird migration data, northern and eastern Europe are considered to be the most vulnerable regions to new outbreaks. Moreover, the urgency of the warning increases if temperatures in the already affected areas were to suddenly drop, the ECDC said.

Assessing the risk of transmission of avian influenza viruses to the general public in Europe as “very low,” the report recommends that EU states immediately increase bio-security measures at poultry farms in particular, and advises warning veterinary and wildlife health authorities of the likely risk and urging them to promptly test dead or sick wild birds.

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Read alsoHungarian honey to become more expensive due to low production-rate

Is Hungary’s future in the East? – the foreign minister met his Kazakh counterpart

Hungary diplomacy Kazakhstan Asia

The Hungarian government’s policy of opening to the East has lived up to its promise, Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó said after talks with Mukhtar Tleuberdi, his Kazakh counterpart, in Budapest on Friday.

The role of the East in the global economy has grown significantly in recent years and the balanced bilateral relations Hungary has built with eastern countries will also benefit Hungarian businesses, Szijjártó told a press conference he held jointly with Tleuberdi. Hungary devotes special attention to Central Asia, the minister said, pointing to the region’s rapid economic growth. He also noted the Europen Union’s strategy to intensify cooperation with the region.

Szijjártó called Kazakhstan a key player in Centra Asia,

praising its efforts to combat terrorism and religious extremism.

“Today, with the threat of new illegal migration waves looming, it’s important to take action against their most serious causes – terrorism and religious extremism,” he said.

The situation in Central Asia has a significant impact on the security of Europe, Szijjártó said, underlining the importance of Kazakhstan’s ability to maintain stability in the region. He noted that Kazakhstan and the EU have committed to strengthening their cooperation and partnership, and he expressed Hungary’s support for a visa facilitation agreement between the two sides. Kazakhstan has already offered its own visa exemptions, and the EU should do the same, Szijjártó said.

The minister also noted Hungary’s observer status in the Turkic Council of which Kazakhstan is also a member. As regards cultural and education ties, Szijjártó said

Hungary offers scholarships to 250 Kazakh university students.

Turning to economic cooperation, he said the coronavirus pandemic was set to bring about a new global economic order “in which Hungary wants to be among the winners”. This is why it is crucial that Hungarian businesses succeed in expanding their presence on the global market and that they take advantage of the fact that there are no unresolved political issues between Hungary and Kazakhstan, Szijjártó said.

Hungarian oil and gas company MOL has now invested more than 200 million dollars in Kazakhstan.

The company is exploring a new major gas field in the country and is set to begin extracting it next year, he added. Hungarian drugmaker Richter is also expanding its market share in Kazakhstan, Szijjártó said. Hungarian exports to Kazakhstan have increased by 69 percent so far this year, he said, adding that

Eximbank has opened a 170 million dollar credit line to help finance Hungarian-Kazakh business cooperation.

In response to a question, Szijjarto said Hungary had decided to join the Turkic Council as an observer so that it could “use our shared cultural and historical heritage to benefit everyday cooperation”. During the first wave of the pandemic, Hungary received help from Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan and Turkey, he noted.

Tleuberdi called Hungary Kazakhstan’s closest ally in the region,

adding that it was a strategic partner, and that the two countries had significant shared political and economic interests. He said Friday’s talks focused on bilateral political, economic and cultural ties as well as Kazakhstan’s and Hungary’s roles in international and regional organisations.

As regards economic ties, Tleuberdi highlighted bilateral cooperation in the fields of agriculture, energy, health care, transport and tourism. In response to a question, the minister said that though Hungary only held an observer status in the Turkic Council, it fulfils the role of a full-fledged member in the council’s work. Kazakhstan has plans to host a Turkic Council summit focusing on economic cooperation in the near future, he added.

Meanwhile, asked about a potential high-level summit between Hungary and Russia, Szijjártó said the two countries’ leaders met every year, and

after Russian President Vladimir Putin’s visit to Budapest last year, this year’s meeting should take place in Russia.

The matter is still on the agenda, Szijjártó said, adding that while plans were to have the meeting take place towards the end of the year, “the pandemic has delayed or thwarted every plan”. Plans are still to hold the meeting at the end of the year, but this could be impacted by several external factors, he added.

Meanwhile, after a meeting of the Hungarian-Kazakh strategic council, Finance Minister Mihály Varga said in a video on Facebook that

opportunities are expanding for Hungarian companies investing in Kazakhstan.

The meeting focused on boosting economic relations, he said. Varga said that although bilateral trade shrank due to the global health crisis, Hungary had been able to increase its exports.

Around 50 Hungarian companies operate in Kazakhstan in areas such as energy, building and agriculture, he noted.

A Hungarian-Kazakh agreement to increase agricultural exports was on the agenda, as well as a project to equip Kazakh hospitals with Hungarian health-care equipment, he said. Also Hungary’s Semmelweis and Corvinus universities are concluding scientific agreements with Kazakh institutions, the minister added.

Budapest museum of Asian art to reopen to public on Saturday

hopp ferenc museum

The Ferenc Hopp Museum of Asiatic Arts will reopen to the public on Saturday after a closure forced by the outbreak of the coronavirus in the spring.

The museum’s Made in Asia exhibition, which was mounted last year to celebrate its 100th anniversary, can be viewed on Saturdays and Sundays between 11am and 4pm, the museum said on Monday.

The exhibition presents the most outstanding artefacts of the museum’s Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Indian, Southeast Asian, Mongolian, Tibetan, Nepali, Middle Eastern and Zichy collection.

On Saturday, the museum on Andrássy Street will host a presentation of Hungarian photographer Zoltan Gaál’s book on Japan.

The exhibition portrays the greatest periods in the museum’s history, allows an insight into the collecting criteria and presents the most representative artefacts of each collection of the museum (Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Indian, South East Asian, Mongolian, Tibetan, Nepali, Near Eastern and the Zichy collection).

However, the peculiarity of this exhibition lies in the fact that the presentation of hundreds of objects and vulnerable groups of objects is only possible if the exhibition itself changes from time to time, meaning the displayed artworks vary. In addition to basic artefact protection considerations, this also means that the scene, the connection, and dialogues between objects also constantly change.

So, it is definitely worth revisiting the exhibition because there is always something new to discover!


During the forced closure in the past several months, the professional staff has continued the preparations for the largest-ever remodelling of the planned installation and the replacement of certain artworks. Thanks to the hard work, in October the museum can present the Japanese collection’s samurai armour and weapons in all its finery as well as outstanding paintings from the Chinese and the Korean collection.

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Hungarian companies to begin construction on a vaccine plant in Mongolia

mongolia

Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó discussed economic ties and bilateral cooperation in international organisations with his Mongolian counterpart, Nyamtseren Enkhtaivan, on Tuesday.

As we wrote in 2019, Hungary has signed a 57 million dollar tied-aid agreement to support the construction by Hungarian companies of a veterinary vaccine plant in Mongolia, details HERE.

In a Facebook entry detailing his talks, Szijjártó announced for the second time:

Hungarian companies will begin construction on a vaccine plant in Mongolia supported by the Hungarian government with a 57 million dollar tied-aid agreement next year.

“As a follow-up to this success, we agreed to launch a new tied-aid scheme in the near future with a view to boosting agricultural investments,” the minister said.

Both Hungary and Mongolia are committed to the global fight against terrorism, Szijjártó said, adding that both countries want to see the United Nations expand its budget to cover anti-terror operations.

Szijjártó also said that demand for Hungarian scholarships remained high, noting that

more than 750 Mongolian students have applied for 200 scholarships.

ORBÁN Viktor
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Orbán meets Kyrgyz president, highlights importance of ‘functioning’ foreign ties

Kyrgyz President Sooronbay Jeenbekov

After talks in Budapest with the Kyrgyz President Sooronbay Jeenbekov on Tuesday, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said Hungary must continue to function in every way, and this also applied to its diplomacy and foreign relations.

Orbán noted the two countries have agreed to establish a 50 million US dollar Hungarian-Kyrgyz development fund, primarily for financing joint ventures. More money may be added to the fund as needed, he said.

He also announced plans to operate a direct flight between Budapest and Bishkek, saying the legal and financial conditions for this were in place.

Orbán noted that the Kyrgyz president had been scheduled to visit Hungary in April, but this plan was stymied due to the coronavirus epidemic.

The Hungarian government currently offers 75 state scholarships to Kyrgyz students, a number to be increased to 150, the prime minister said.

He added that Hungary was planning to make investment projects in “certain sectors” of the Kyrgyz economy.

Concerning bilateral ties, Orbán said that relations with Kyrgyzstan had so far been a “neglected area” but said he hoped that the current visit would “supply content” to those ties. Orbán also paid tribute to the cultural achievements of Kyrgyzstan.

Orbán quoted the Kyrgyz president as saying that

“the Kyrgyz and the Hungarian used to be one people in the good old times”,

adding that recent history had also linked the two countries, and that Hungary’s political regime change had contributed to trends that helped Kyrgyzstan regain its independence.

Jeenbekov said that bilateral ties were dynamically developing on the basis of mutual respect.

He welcomed that a number of agreements had been signed, and said that they could open a new chapter in bilateral cooperation.

The Kyrgyz president also thanked the Hungarian government for its assistance related to coronavirus prevention.

Before the press conference, 13 bilateral agreements were signed concerning the two countries’ strategic relationship, as well as cooperation in the areas of transport, health, farming, finance, disaster management, water management, education, research, digitisation of the economy, and investment promotion, and including one aimed at eliminating double taxation.

hungary central asia
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