Szijjarto: Cooperation with China deeply affects European economies

The ministry cited Peter Szijjarto as saying in Tashkent that civilised East-West cooperation was increasingly important because galloping economic growth is currently taking place in the East rather than in the West.

He cited the example of China, noting that Chinese investments and bilateral trade “have a major influence on European economies”.

“Countries able to preserve their achievements and develop fast are those that are developing cooperation with the East most effectively and quickly,” he added.

Szijjarto said that in the current era of wars and crises, trends were developing towards the formation of blocs in the world.

“This goes against our national interests. Our goal is that the upcoming period should be dedicated to making connections and not the formation of blocs,” he added.

“We have been developing cooperation with Central Asia for 14 years. We recognised the importance of Central Asia early on when it attracted serious criticism, but by now we have proven to be right,” he said.

Later on Tuesday, Szijjarto met Laziz Kudratov, Uzbekistan’s minister for investment, industry and trade. The ministers said in a joint statement that bilateral trade has grown by 86 percent since 2010, surpassing 100 million US dollars last year. A Hungarian pharmaceutical company is preparing to build a factory in Uzbekistan, and preparations are in the home run for a 165 million US dollar chicken processing plant, he said. Further, OTP Bank’s presence in the country offers opportunities for Hungarian investors, he said.

Tashkent has also pledged to set up a 50 hectare special investment zone for Hungarian companies, he added.

Direct flights between Budapest and Tashkent will resume on June 30, he said.