After the Russia-Ukraine War, European Union (EU) aimed to deepen economic and trade correlations with Central Asia countries. Therefore, it has recently been observed that there has been intense diplomatic traffic between the sides. The EU wishes to initiate new processes in its relations with the countries of the region using mutual visits. At this point, it is thought that Hungary, which is an observer member of the Organization of Turkish States (OTS), can play a critical role.
In this context, Ankara Center for Crisis and Policy Studies (ANKASAM) presents the views of Gönczi Róbert, Senior Analyst of the Migration Research Institute (MRI) to evaluate Hungary’s Central Asian policy.
- How do you evaluate Hungary’s Central Asian policy?
The Viktor Orban Government, which came to power in 2010, announced the new foreign policy concept known as the “Eastern Opening” policy. The aim of this policy was for Hungary to acquire new foreign policy partners in Asia, including Central Asia. It can be said that the policy of Hungary in question was successful for Central Asia. Hungary joined the OTS as an observer member in 2018.
The development of relations between Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan with Hungary is remarkable in the region. At this point, it should be noted that; the election of Shavkat Mirziyoyev as President of Uzbekistan in 2016 played a critical role in Hungary’s Central Asian policy. Because Mirziyoyev follows a much more liberal economic policy approach than his predecessor. This reflects positively on the commercial relations between Hungary and Uzbekistan.
The most significant goal of the Hungarian Government was the acquisition of the Uzbek bank Ipoteka by OTP Bank. The sale transaction was scheduled for the beginning of 2022. However, this sale was postponed to a later date due to the war in Ukraine. This is expected to happen soon. So that; Hungarian OTP Bank may soon become the first foreign bank in Uzbekistan. In addition, Tashkent and Budapest have signed agreements in areas such as pharmaceuticals, manufacturing, water management, the food industry and nuclear energy.
- Considering the energy crisis, how can Hungary cooperate with Central Asian countries?
Central Asia is a very substantial region in terms of offering various opportunities in energy. However, there is a limitation here due to Russian influence. Although there are plenty of natural gas and oil fields in the region, most of the pipelines pass through Russia. Therefore, energy exports may be circumscribed by EU sanctions. Therefore, when it comes to natural gas and crude oil, the construction of new pipelines will come to the fore. However, we see that this is very difficult for Central Europe, as can be seen from the example of Azerbaijan.
Another energy issue that Central Asian states can benefit from in Hungary and the Central European region is nuclear energy. The first block of Paks Nuclear Power Plant, Hungary’s only nuclear power plant, was built with Soviet technology. It is not a coincidence that the Hungarian Government decided to build the second block, which is still under construction, based on Russian technology. For this reason, Budapest sought support from the Russian State Atomic Energy Agency (Rosatom). However, the war in Ukraine disrupted the plans here. Therefore, the fact that the engineers of the Central Asian countries are familiar with the operation of the Soviet nuclear power plants shows that they can play a useful role in the construction of this power plant. In addition, some Central Asian countries also have significant uranium reserves. This decision could help Hungary gain energy independence.
- We know that the EU aims to improve its relations with Central Asian countries. What role can Hungary play here?
The EU maintains a very contradictory relationship with the Central Asian region. This is because the state of the democratic institutional system in Central Asia is not satisfactory by EU standards. Moreover, the presence of Russia and China in the region does not allow the EU to compete effectively with the major powers there. At the same time, the economic importance of the EU, the size of its workforce and its markets; are important factors in relationships. In this context, Hungary is considered a leading power in the development of relations between Central Asia and Europe. Hungary is becoming more and more recognizable in Central Asian states. In August 2022, Hungary also adopted an agreement aimed at facilitating the visa requirement to make it easier for citizens of Kyrgyzstan to come and work in the country. For this reason, Hungary can manifest other EU states that a beneficial system of relations can be established between Central Asian states and European countries.
Gönczi Róbert
He is a senior analyst at the Institute for Migration Research (MRI) and a foreign policy correspondent at Neokohn. He graduated from the National University of Public Service and Mathias Corvinus Collegium in 2021 and worked at Mandiner and the Warsaw Institute. He also served as Vice President of the College for Advanced Studies in Security Policy.
