President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev paid a state visit to Hungary, the purpose of which was to give a new impetus to the multifaceted cooperation between the two countries.
The visit, which marked the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations and the 10th anniversary of strategic partnership, confirmed the desire of the two countries to deepen cooperation.
During the visit, President Tokayev met with Hungarian President Tamas Shujok and Prime Minister Viktor Orban. The talks were held in both a narrow and expanded format with the participation of members of official delegations.
The main topics of the talks were strengthening the political dialogue, expanding trade, economic and investment cooperation, developing the Trans-Caspian International Transport Corridor, deepening cultural and humanitarian ties, and interaction within multilateral structures such as the UN, OTS and OSCE.
Tokayev and Orban discussed topical issues of bilateral cooperation during the expanded talks and reached a number of important agreements, including the creation of the Kazakhstan–Hungary Investment Fund. The discussion focused on key areas of cooperation, such as trade and economic partnership, energy, oil and gas, transport and education.
During the visit, a number of bilateral documents aimed at strengthening cooperation in various fields were signed.
Kassym-Jomart Tokayev also took part in the Kazakh-Hungarian investment round table, where he presented the investment opportunities of Kazakhstan to Hungarian businessmen. The President stressed that Kazakhstan is implementing a new political and economic paradigm based on knowledge and innovation. He invited the heads of Hungarian companies to participate in the Astana International Forum in May 2025.
Trade and economic relations between Kazakhstan and Hungary
During the briefing after talks with Prime Minister Orban and during the investment round table, Tokayev announced a number of indicators that characterize stable growth and significant potential of Kazakh-Hungarian trade and economic relations.
- Mutual trade turnover between the two countries shows positive dynamics. In 2023, the trade turnover increased by 9% compared to the previous year.
- The countries set an ambitious goal – to bring the volume of trade turnover to $ 1 billion.
- Kazakhstan is ready to expand exports to Hungary, offering 95 types of goods worth $ 700 million.
- The promising export sectors from Kazakhstan: energy, metallurgy, petrochemistry, mechanical engineering, agriculture, construction.
- Hungarian companies are expressing keen interest in investment projects within Kazakhstan. Since 2005, Hungarian investments in Kazakhstan have totaled $370 million.
- A notable example of successful investment cooperation is the agreement signed for the construction of three feed production plants, with the participation of the Hungarian holding UBM. This project is valued at $62 million.
- Over 70 Hungarian companies, including prominent names like MOL Group and Gedeon Richter, are currently operating in Kazakhstan. Joint investment projects in mechanical engineering, agriculture, and logistics are under development, with a combined investment value exceeding $540 million.
The President of Kazakhstan informed Hungarian businessmen that there are great prospects for deepening investment cooperation in such priority areas as energy, production of rare earth materials, transport and logistics, agriculture, pharmaceuticals, digitalization and the financial market.
During the negotiations, the possibilities of developing one of the most important strategic trade routes, the Trans-Caspian International Transport Corridor, were also considered.
According to Tokayev, the Memorandum of Cooperation between KTZh Express, L.A.C. Holding (Hungary) and Xi’an Free Trade Port Construction and Operation (China) will strengthen trade and transport links between the two countries.
“New opportunities are opening up for the development of infrastructure, logistics and international trade. 85% of overland transit traffic between Asia and Europe passes through Kazakhstan. In the near future, the volume of freight along this route will reach 10 million tons,” the President of Kazakhstan said.
Signed documents
Following the talks between the President of Kazakhstan and the Prime Ministers of Hungary in an expanded format, a joint statement was signed.
The following documents were signed by members of the official delegations of Kazakhstan and Hungary:
1.Memorandum of Understanding on cooperation between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan and the Ministry of Foreign Economic Relations and Foreign Affairs of Hungary on consular issues;
2. Cooperation agreement between JSC NWF Samruk-Kazyna and the National Hungarian Company National Capital Holding on the implementation of joint investment projects;
3. Trilateral framework agreement between the Ministry of Agriculture of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Kazakh Invest and UBM Group on the implementation of projects for the production of mixed feeds and premixes in Kazakhstan;
4.Memorandum of Cooperation between JSC NC Kazakhstan Temir Zholy (Kazakhstan), L.A.C. Holding (Hungary) and Xi’an Free Trade Port Construction and Operation Co., Ltd (China);
5. Memorandum on expanding cooperation between JSC NC KazMunaiGas and the Hungarian MOL Group;
6. Memorandum of Understanding in the field of banking between the Agency of the Republic of Kazakhstan for Regulation and Development of the Financial Market and the National Bank of Hungary.
Following the investment roundtable, 7 commercial documents were signed in the fields of agriculture, digitalization of transport infrastructure, education, and support for joint investment projects.///nCa, 21 November 2024