Kyrgyzstan Opens Embassy in Budapest

The Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó and Kyrgyz Foreign Minister Ruslan Kazakbayev jointly opened the Embassy of Kyrgyzstan in Budapest on Monday.

In the context of the relations between Hungary and Kyrgyzstan, the Hungarian minister said it was important that there were no outstanding political issues between the two governments and that the reciprocal opening of the embassies meant that personal presence was already a given.

He also mentioned the stable financial background: a financial fund has been established to support bilateral trade. He said that with a huge oversubscription, 150 Kyrgyz students arrive in Hungary on scholarships every year.

Together with his Kyrgyz counterpart, the minister also attended the celebration of the Day of Turkic Cooperation and Unity at the Turkic Council's representative office in Budapest.

Mr Szijjártó pointed out that a large part of the Turkic Council states are geographically far from Hungary, but despite this, "extremely close friendly, I can often say fraternal cooperation has been established", which is already having an impact in everyday life.

The minister was of the view that personal contacts are a long-term guarantee of good cooperation, and in this respect it is important that this year 870 scholarships are already being offered in Hungarian higher education institutions for students from the Turkic Council member states. Some 5,000 applicants have applied for these places.