Meeting of the Chairman of the Halk Maslahaty of Turkmenistan with the Prime Minister of Hungary

On June 8, 2023, the National Leader of the Turkmen people, Chairman of the Halk Maslahaty of Turkmenistan Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov met with the Prime Minister of Hungary Viktor Orban.

The National Leader of the Turkmen people emphasized that he fondly recalls his visit to Hungary in June 2014, during which a Joint Statement was adopted that shaped the Turkmen-Hungarian partnership, and considers it important to continue to maintain regular contacts at the highest level, which give impetus to bilateral cooperation in various fields.

During the meeting, Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov and Viktor Orban exchanged views on the current state and prospects for further development of the Turkmen-Hungarian partnership in a wide range of areas of mutual interest.

Arkadag stressed that the bilateral cooperation today has good prospects for expanding joint activities in the political, diplomatic, trade, economic, cultural and humanitarian spheres.

Thus, in the political and diplomatic areas, according to the National Leader of the Turkmen people, it is necessary to continue the interaction of foreign ministries in order to coordinate efforts to promote the initiatives of Turkmenistan and Hungary in the international arena, primarily within the UN and other authoritative organizations.

Attention was focused on the fact that Turkmenistan has been implementing its foreign policy course based on the principles of positive neutrality for about thirty years.

The trade and economic spheres were identified as the second important area of the Turkmen-Hungarian partnership. Promising areas include trade, energy, industrial cooperation, logistics, agriculture and the private sector.

Discussing energy issues, the Chairman of the Halk Maslahaty noted the coincidence of the positions of the two countries on the issue of reliable and stable transit of energy resources and its role in ensuring sustainable development and international cooperation. Hungary, as is known, twice acted as a co-author of the Resolutions of the UN General Assembly put forward by Turkmenistan in this area.

As noted, Turkmenistan, which has huge reserves of natural gas, is open for cooperation and is ready for a more detailed discussion of this topic.

Further, it was stated that Turkmenistan also attaches great importance to cooperation in the transport sector, expanding the associated communication infrastructure and creating transport and transit corridors, primarily in the East-West direction.

Another key vector of partnership is healthcare, in particular the pharmaceutical industry, taking into account the extensive experience of Hungary, which is one of the twenty largest exporters of pharmaceutical products in the world.

In this regard, a proposal was made to establish joint production facilities in Turkmenistan for the production of medicines and medical devices.

A significant place in bilateral relations is given to the cultural and humanitarian cluster. According to the general opinion, the historical proximity of the two friendly peoples creates a favorable basis for building up active cooperation in the fields of culture and art.

In the context of the celebration of the 300th anniversary of the outstanding poet and thinker of the East Magtymguly Fragi in 2024 in Turkmenistan, the Hungarian side was invited to take part in the festive events planned for this occasion.

The development of cooperation in the field of education and sports were also highlighted as promising areas of bilateral relations.

At the end of the meeting, the Chairman of the Halk Maslakhaty confirmed the readiness of the Turkmen side to implement new joint projects and wished Viktor Orban health and success in his state activities, and the people of Hungary well-being and prosperity.