Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s press statement after his talks with President of Kyrgyzstan Sooronbay Jeenbekov
4 September 2018, Cholpon-Ata (Чолпон-Ата)

Good morning, Ladies and Gentlemen, Honourable President,

I see it as a personal privilege to be the first prime minister from Hungary to pay an official visit to your country. It is hard to comprehend why this has taken so long. The answer must surely lie in the geographical distance, as thousands of kilometres lie between our two countries. Despite this, Hungary preserves the traditions and memories of its ancient origins, and in Europe people see us – and we also see ourselves – as the most westerly Eastern people. It is good to live in the West, which is a successful part of the world, and Hungary is also a successful country. But consequences arise from the fact that, after all, we are surrounded by foreign peoples, and we are a nation without relatives. Therefore Hungary is determined to foster its cultural, spiritual and geographical roots. This explains why the Hungarians see their independence and sovereignty as such a sensitive subject. Hungary is a country of ten million people which seeks to develop; but at the same time it wishes to preserve its sovereignty – and in this it shows similarities with your people.

In front of you all, I would like to very publicly thank the President for inviting us to the summit of the Cooperation Council of Turkic-speaking States. Thank you for giving us the chance to take part in the World Nomad Games, and thank you also for the opportunity to take part in the work of the Parliamentary Assembly of Turkic-speaking States.

We reviewed economic relations between the two countries, and concluded that the politicians have done their job: all the necessary agreements between the two countries have been signed; economic conditions are good; and now we are setting up a joint economic committee. With this the ball is now in the business community’s court. Here in Kyrgyzstan we are seeking partners – particularly in the areas of health care, water management, agriculture and information technology. I asked the President to encourage members of the Kyrgyz business community to come to Hungary and examine the opportunities there. At the same time, the Hungarian Eximbank has opened a credit line for the development of Kyrgyz-Hungarian economic relations. We are pleased to report that in Hungary twenty-five Kyrgyz students are studying with the aid of Hungarian scholarships. We would gladly see more of them, and so we will now raise this number. I also wish to thank the President for enabling us to join the International Turkic Academy.

In light of all this, I think that our bilateral talks and the Hungarian visit to your country have been extremely successful, and, in order to continue our cooperation, I have invited the President to honour us with a visit to Budapest.

Finally, I wish the Kyrgyz people prosperity and much success.