The Turkic Investment Fund offers great opportunities for Hungary to strengthen economic and trade cooperation with Turkic states and may generate new investments, the minister of foreign affairs and trade said in Budapest on Friday. Péter Szijjártó told a joint press conference with the fund’s head, Baghdad Amrayev, that central Asia’s role has grown recently, partly due to the European energy crisis. The region is rich in energy resources and harbours serious growth potential, he said. Trade volume with members of the Organisation of Turkic States (OTS) has grown 2.5-fold to 4.5 billion US dollars over the past decade, he said.
Hungary’s crisis management model focuses on boosting support for investments “whenever world economy is ailing or heading in the wrong direction”, Szijjártó said. “Investments in such situations are not only key to overcoming difficulties but also a strength when it comes to intensifying competition as the economy re-ignites,” he said. In 2022, the “black year of the world economy”, Hungary broke records in investment, exports and employment, he said.
Szijjártó noted that Hungary has opened embassies in all Turkic states, and Uzbekistan has announced it will do the same in Budapest. Budapest is also host to the OTS European representation and its institute for drought prevention, with opportunities arising for the export of Hungarian technologies. Szijjártó also decorated Amreyev with the Hungarian Order of Merit, Middle Cross, for his work as the Secretary-General of the OTS.
Viktor Orbán also met Amreyev for talks in his office. The investment fund will be the most important joint financial institution of the Organization of Turkic States, which aims at mobilising the economic potentials of its members, including Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Türkiye and Uzbekistan, as well as Hungary and Turkmenistan as observer states, and to strengthen their trade and economic cooperation, Bertalan Havasi, the PM’s press chief, cited Orbán as saying. The Turkic Joint Investment Fund was launched with capital of 350 million US dollars, primarily with the aim of supporting projects by small and medium-sized businesses, he added. The meeting was attended by Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó.