Péter Szijjártó, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade, has announced that Sadyr Japarov, the president of Kyrgyzstan, will pay an official visit to Hungary in late February.
After talks with Jeenbek Kulubaev, his Kyrgyz counterpart, by phone, the foreign minister said the visit will be Japarov’s first to a European Union member state. During the visit, a declaration will be signed on strategic cooperation and several agreements on education, environment and justice cooperation, Minister Szijjártó said on Facebook. “Central Asia’s security indirectly impacts Europe’s security and it is, therefore, important for us. Therefore, Hungary supports Kyrgyzstan’s application for the United Nations Security Council non-permanent membership,” he said. In terms of bilateral economic ties, the foreign minister noted the 16 million dollars joint development fund which he said could boost cooperation by allowing Hungarian investments in Kyrgyzstan’s water management and agriculture sectors. He also noted that 200 Kyrgyz students study at Hungarian universities on Hungarian state grants each year, adding that a total of 648 students have submitted their applications for the next year.