How Orban’s fourth visit to Kazakhstan is redefining Kazakh-Hungarian relations
In a series of diplomatic events in Kazakhstan this week, Prime Minister of Hungary Viktor Orban will pay an official visit on November 2. Besides meeting with President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, the Hungarian statesman will take part in the 10th anniversary summit of the Organization of Turkic States in Astana on November 3. More about the current state of bilateral ties between Kazakhstan and Hungary and what the visit entails is in the latest article of Kazinform agency.
“During the visit, the sides will discuss issues on further expansion of Kazakh-Hungarian cooperation in trade, economic, investment, cultural and humanitarian spheres,” reads the statement of the Kazakh President’s press office.
Thirty-one years of diplomatic relations
The relations between Kazakhstan and Hungary are characterized by mutual understanding and a commitment to strengthening cooperation.
In March 1993, the Hungarian embassy was opened in Kazakhstan. In September 1993, the embassy of Kazakhstan was opened in Hungary.
A regular political dialogue has been established between the two countries, including multiple high-level visits. This will be Orban's fourth visit to Kazakhstan.
Previously, the President of Kazakhstan and the Prime Minister of Hungary met several times. The first official meeting took place in April 2020 when the leaders of OTS member states and observer countries convened for an emergency online meeting to discuss efforts to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Tokayev and Orban then met in November 2021 in Istanbul as part of the eight OTS summit of the Heads of State of the Cooperation Council of Turkic-Speaking States and in November 2022 during the OTS summit in Samarkand.
Last year, Kazakhstan and Hungary celebrated the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations. During this short period, the countries managed to raise bilateral relations to the level of strategic partnership, signing the declaration on strategic partnership in June 2014.
“Hungary became the first Central European country to sign a declaration [on strategic partnership] with Kazakhstan,” said Lydia Parkhomchik, an expert at the Institute of World Economics and Politics.
In 2008, the Kazakh-Hungarian Intergovernmental Commission on Economic Cooperation was created. Four years later, the two countries launched the Kazakh-Hungarian Business Council.
In 2015, the Kazakh-Hungarian Strategic Council began its work, co-chaired by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan and the Minister of Finance of Hungary.
“The intention to maintain and deepen traditional friendly ties between the two countries was confirmed by President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev during a meeting with the President of Hungary Katalin Novak on the sidelines of the 78th session of the UN General Assembly in September 2023,” said Parkhomchik.
She emphasized the close cooperation within the Organization of Turkic States (OTS), where Hungary has an observer status.
This opinion is echoed by other experts, too. Amir Bashbaev, Head of the Analysis and Forecasting Group of the Institute of Foreign Policy Studies under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan, also said Hungary’s participation as an observer is a “positive factor.”
“The current Hungarian leadership positions itself as an integral part of the Turkic world and a window to Europe for the OTS. The fact that a member of the European Union is an observer of the OTS is a good factor,” said Bashbaev.
Trade and economic cooperation
Hungary is one of the key trade and economic partners of Kazakhstan in Central and Eastern Europe.
According to Kazakhstan’s Bureau of National Statistics, trade turnover between the countries in 2022 amounted to $172.2 million, up 24 percent from $138.7 million in 2021. Hungary accounts for just 0.1 percent of the total volume of Kazakhstan’s foreign trade.
Exports reached $10.9 million, while imports - $161.3 million.
Between January and August 2023, trade turnover reached $124.2 million, which was 24.4 percent compared to the same period last year ($99.8 million).
The main goods imported to Kazakhstan from Hungary are medicines, hygiene products for women and children, insecticides, herbicides, computers, food products, consoles, panels, tables for electrical equipment, machines and mechanisms for harvesting and threshing agricultural crops.
From 2005 to 2022, the gross inflow of direct investment from Hungary to Kazakhstan amounted to $318.7 million, including $25.6 million in 2020, $25.5 million in 2021 and $49.8 million in 2022.
There are 29 legal entities, branches and representative offices with Hungarian capital in Kazakhstan, including MOL oil and gas company and Gedeon Richter pharmaceutical company.
Parkhomchik observes the potential of economic relations between the two countries “has not been fully realized.”
Strategic projects
In the near future, MOL plans to launch one of the largest gas condensate fields, Rozhkovskoye. In partnership with KazMunayGas (KMG) Exploration Production and First International Oil Corporation (FIOC) in its joint operational company, Uralsk Oil and Gas (UOG), the preparations are currently ongoing for the Trial Production Project.
According to KMG, the Rozhkov gas and condensate field was discovered in 2008, and the contract for extracting gas and condensate from this field was secured in 2015.
The field has 12.5 million tons of recoverable condensate and 26.8 billion cubic meters of reservoir gas. According to KMG, the volume of investments reaches $141.7 million.
Another promising project is the construction of solar power plants and hydrogen generators in Kazakhstan by the Hungarian company Globalia. The company plans to provide electricity to four settlements and one industrial facility in the Azgir zone of the Atyrau region through five solar parks with a capacity of 10.3 megawatts.
According to the company’s official website, it has already been implementing several solar projects in Kazakhstan. This includes the construction of a ground base solar power plant with a capacity of 50 megawatts in the Zhuldy micro-district in the city of Shymkent and the construction of a ground base solar power plant with a capacity of 50 megawatts in the city of Turkestan.
Addressing the eighth meeting of the Kazakh-Hungarian Intergovernmental Commission on Economic Cooperation, Minister of National Economy Alibek Kuantyrov said Kazakhstan is ready to increase volumes and expand the range of supplied goods.
Last year, enterprises were launched in Kazakhstan in such sectors as food, light and chemical industries, mechanical engineering, pharmaceuticals and oil refining. According to Kuantyrov, under a nationwide pool of investment projects, in 2022, 160 projects were launched worth $4.2 billion, creating 15,700 thousand permanent jobs.
“One of the key economic advantages of Kazakhstan is its high transit potential,” the minister said.
Kazakhstan’s efforts to develop its transit potential can positively impact the development of the Hungarian project Záhony Port, an important transport route between Hungary and China through Kazakhstan.
This effort is important for both countries, as both do not have direct access to the sea.
“According to forecasts, in addition to interaction in the agro-industrial complex, the impetus for the development of business relations between the two countries can come from transit transportation,” said Parkhomchik.
Back in 2021, KTZ Express signed a memorandum of intent to develop transit transportation to Central Europe through Hungary.
“We are talking, in particular, about cooperation within the framework of the Záhony Logistics and Industrial Zone (CELIZ). The Hungarian side considers the modernization of the railway and port infrastructure in the region as a key project for organizing cargo transportation routes in the China-Europe-China direction,” said the expert.
Common historical roots
Kazakhstan and Hungary share close historical ties. The descendants of the Kipchak tribes, who migrated here from the Turgai steppes in the first half of the 13th century, live in Hungary.
Kazakh and Hungarian scientists show interest in studying common historical roots. Joint archaeological research is being carried out to study the history of the settlement of the Kipchaks in Hungary and the Magyars in Kazakhstan.
“Close ethnocultural ties between Hungary and the countries of Central Asia allow the parties to find common ground when building an interstate dialogue. The cultural and humanitarian track is a solid basis for the further development of productive bilateral relations,” said Parkhomchik.
Besides that, historical connection, the two countries’ cooperation in education is thriving.
Kazakhstan’s universities work closely with leading Hungarian universities. According to data from the Kazakh Foreign Minister, every year, 250 Kazakh citizens receive grants to study at universities in Hungary through the Stipendium Hungaricum scholarship. Currently, more than 1,000 Kazakh students are studying in Hungary.
In 2022, as part of the Bolashak program, six scholars arrived in Hungary to conduct research in various sectors of agriculture.
