Szijjarto: Hungary profits greatly from Kazakhstan cooperation

The ministry cited Peter Szijjarto telling a joint press conference with Kazakh counterpart Murat Nurtleu in Budapest that cooperation was yielding results in some of the most important areas for Hungary.

Bilateral trade increased by 69 percent this year and exceeded 500 million euros by September, he said. Also, Hungarian companies received around 250 million euros worth of investment opportunities in renewable energy development in Kazakhstan, with the green transition in several locations managed by Hungarian firms, he added.

He welcomed Kazakhstan becoming a backbone of Hungary’s energy security, and after 15 years of preparations, Hungarian oil and gas company MOL, with its Kazakh and Chinese partners, will start gas exploration in the Karpovsky oil field early next year.

Kazakhstan’s role is also growing in crude oil supplies, with a five-fold increase last year, representing around 8 percent of Hungary’s total consumption of 500 million tonnes, he said. Crude oil purchases from Kazakhstan reached 700,000 tonnes this year, pushing the proportion of Kazakh gas in Hungary above 10 percent, he added.

An agreement has been signed on Hungary providing support in nuclear training to Kazakhstan, he said. Additionally, he noted that some 250 Kazakh students study in Hungarian universities under a scholarship scheme.