Hungary's foreign minister has made official visits to Uzbekistan And Tajikistan to strengthen economic ties with the governments of the two Asian countries.
Péter Szijjártó, minister of Foreign Affiars and Trade, first stopped off in Tajikistan where he revealed that there are investment opportunities of several billion forints available to Hungarian water management companies in Tajikistan, where 54 percent of Asia’s water resources are found.
The minister told MTI that the water base in Tajikistan is more than three times central Europe’s water demand. Tajikistan has some 900 rivers and 1,500 mountain lakes but uses only 5 percent of its water energy potential, while only 45 percent of the public has direct access to drinking water, he added.
The minister agreed with President Emomali Rahmon that Tajikistan will use Hungarian water management technologies in its economic development efforts. In order to help Hungarian companies invest there, Hungary has set up a 38 million EUR credit line in Eximbank, he said.
The minister also said that scholarships have been offered to 20 Tajik students to attend university in Hungary and they plan to study in the area of water management.
The foreign minister then made his way to Uzbekistan where he said that the Uzbek economy harbors huge opportunities for Hungarian exporters given its impressive growth even by Asian standards.
Minister Szijjártó made the remarks on Tuesday after inaugurating Hungary’s new embassy in Tashkent, the capital of the country.
He added that opportunities are abound in the food industry and animal-husbandry technologies as well as in pharmaceuticals and water-management technologies.
The Uzbek economy grew by 7.8 percent last year and it is expected to grow by 6 percent this year, the minister said. The country plans to open up to the world and its economy is being liberalized, he added.