From Budapest to Ankara

As she concludes a landmark four-year tenure, Turkish Ambassador Karanis Ekşioğlu speaks to Diplomacy&Trade about record trade figures, energy deals, joint defense ventures and the deepening of a centuries-old friendship.

By the time Turkish Ambassador Gülsen Karanis Ekşioğlu prepares to hand over her keys in Budapest, the bilateral trade volume between Türkiye and Hungary has quietly crossed a threshold that would have seemed ambitious not long ago. Last year, it surpassed USD five billion for the first time – a record that immediately prompted both sides to set their sights on double that figure. "At the last High-Level Strategic Cooperation Council Meeting in December 2025, we set a new bilateral trade volume target of USD ten billion," the Ambassador tells Diplomacy&Trade. "I believe that we can achieve this goal with the joint efforts and close cooperation between Turkish and Hungarian business communities."

The recently signed Air Services Agreement is expected to gradually increase the number of flight frequencies between the two countries and introduce additional destinations, which will definitely further boost bilateral trade and people-to-people contacts. The long-standing commitment to the two capitals with direct flights is already realized, as Wizz Air already took the initiative and has started the direct flights between Ankara and Budapest this April.
It is a fitting capstone to a tenure defined by concrete milestones rather than diplomatic platitudes. Over four years, Ambassador Karanis Ekşioğlu presided over the elevation of bilateral ties to an "enhanced strategic partnership" on the occasion of the centenary of Turkish-Hungarian diplomatic relations in 2023, two consecutive thematic years – Culture in 2024, and Science and Innovation in 2025 – and a steady expansion of cooperation in energy, defense and education. In a turbulent European neighborhood, the two countries have managed, as she puts it, to "keep up with the momentum despite all the difficulties and challenges our common neighborhood has been facing."

An energy partnership without borders
Perhaps the most structurally significant development of the Ambassador's tenure has been in energy. Türkiye, she notes, sits adjacent to approximately 60% of the world's proven oil and natural gas reserves and has long pursued a strategy of becoming a regional energy hub. Hungary, landlocked in central Europe, has been searching for ways to diversify its supply. The two imperatives have found a natural meeting point.
A landmark agreement signed between BOTAŞ and MVM in August 2023 – allowing Türkiye to export 300 million cubic meters of natural gas to Hungary – was a first of its kind: Hungary became the first country to receive Turkish natural gas despite sharing no common border with Türkiye. Since then, the partnership has broadened considerably. Turkish Petroleum Corporation TPAO and Hungary’s MOL Group have deepened their cooperation, beginning joint hydrocarbon exploration in Hungary and extending their collaboration to third countries, including Libya. Meanwhile, one of Türkiye's leading energy players has joined forces with Italian and Hungarian counterparts to develop a 1,000 MW natural gas combined cycle power plant in Tiszaújváros. "Turkish companies are now present across the spectrum from solar to nuclear," the Ambassador says.

Defense: from acquisition to joint production
The story of the Ejder Yalçın – known in Hungary as the "Gidrán" armored vehicle – has become something of a symbol for how the defense relationship has matured. The first batch was delivered five years ago as a straightforward acquisition. Today, what began as a procurement deal has evolved into technology transfer and joint production. New joint ventures between Turkish and Hungarian firms are already taking shape, and a newly established Defense Innovation Working Group has held three meetings and developed a road map for concrete collaborative projects.
"Türkiye's expertise and Hungary's strategic goals as a NATO ally make for a strong foundation," the Ambassador says. Both countries, she emphasizes, have been vocal within the Alliance about strengthening European security, and she expects the upcoming NATO Summit in Ankara in July to provide a further platform for aligned messaging.

Shared foreign policy instincts
Beyond the balance sheet, what strikes Ambassador Karanis Ekşioğlu most about the relationship is a convergence of foreign policy temperament. Both Türkiye and Hungary, she observes, occupy central geographic positions in their respective regions and face similar pressures – "a world characterized by increased uncertainties, crises, conflicts, political and economic rivalries" – that demand a robust, multidimensional diplomatic posture.
She points to Türkiye's mediation efforts as an area where Hungarian support has been consistent and meaningful: Budapest backed Ankara's role in bringing Ukrainian and Russian delegations together in Istanbul, supported the prisoner exchange facilitation and the Black Sea Grain Deal. "These were all appreciated and supported by the Hungarian side," she says. Hungary has equally been a steady voice for advancing Türkiye's EU membership process, which Ankara views not as a formality but as a strategic asset for European resilience in areas from energy security to migration management.
On migration, cooperation has moved well beyond declarations. Since 2021, Turkish police officers have been aiding Hungarian border protection efforts – a bilateral model that, the Ambassador notes, has since attracted interest from other countries as well.

A million Hungarians and a Cultural Year
It would be a mistake, however, to reduce the relationship to hard security and trade flows. One of the most striking figures Ambassador Karanis Ekşioğlu cites is the reach of the 2024 Turkish-Hungarian Year of Culture: over 114 events across 14 Hungarian cities, attended or watched by around one million people. "One in ten Hungarians had a chance to experience the Cultural Year one way or another," she says. The season – which ran from a concert by the Turkish Presidential Symphony Orchestra at the Liszt Ferenc Academy of Music to a friendly football match at the Puskás Arena – also had measurable economic effects, with trade and tourism figures rising noticeably in its wake.
The 2025 Year of Science and Innovation built on that momentum, bringing together research institutes, universities and private sector actors around 32 joint projects, from artificial intelligence to SME competitiveness, with a further 14 proposals receiving joint research council funding.

A record and a legacy
The Ambassador, who is proud to note that her successor will also be a woman, reflects on her tenure with a characteristic blend of warmth and precision. She will miss the Danube walks and cycling around Lake Balaton with her family. She leaves behind a relationship that has, by almost any measure, been transformed: a new strategic framework, record trade, an energy partnership, joint defense production, a science collaboration and the lasting goodwill of a cultural year that reached a million people.
"I am confident," she says, "that the strong ties will keep growing even further in the period ahead."