20.05.2025

President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev and Prime Minister of Hungary Viktor Orbán held talks at the Carmelite Palace in a narrow format and with the participation of official delegations.

Issues of further deepening Uzbek-Hungarian strategic partnership and multifaceted cooperation were discussed.

The President of Uzbekistan sincerely thanked the Hungarian leader for the warm reception provided to the Uzbek delegation in Budapest.

The progressive dynamics of practical interaction in all areas has been noted with satisfaction. Fruitful contacts have been established at the level of parliaments, governments, sectoral agencies and regions. Close cooperation within the framework of the UN, the Organization of Turkic States and other international structures is being carried out.

The volumes of mutual trade are growing, cooperation of leading enterprises in various sectors of economy is intensifying.

The importance of bringing the volume of trade turnover at the first stage up to 500 million euros, including through import substitution opportunities and the status of “GSP+” was noted.

To this end, laboratories will also be accredited in accordance with EU requirements, a program of pre-certification of goods and a joint platform of assistance to exporting companies will be launched.

It should be noted that the current portfolio of joint investment projects amounts to $500 million. New projects worth another 1.5 billion euros have been prepared for the current visit.

It was emphasized that the entry of Hungarian OTP bank into the financial market of Uzbekistan has become a powerful signal for Hungarian and European business. An agreement was reached with the bank to expand financing instruments. This includes creation of a joint company to develop car loans and launching a business support program. The creation of a poultry cluster in Syrdarya region is also in the active phase.

During the morning meeting with the business community agreements were reached on implementation of new projects, including modernization of transport infrastructure, construction of highways and logistics centers, development of communal networks, production of finished textile products, construction materials, chemical goods, pharmaceuticals, in the field of digital technologies, aquaculture.

It was emphasized that a special industrial zone for European companies under the management of Hungarian operator Inpark is being created in Uzbekistan to accommodate such production facilities.

In general, it was agreed to prepare and adopt the Investment Partnership Program during the next session of the Intergovernmental Commission in Budapest in July this year.

It was also proposed to resume the activity of the Uzbek-Hungarian Business Council and hold its next meeting in the near future with wide involvement of business.

The fruitful results of the first Forum of Regions held in October last year in the city of Kokand were noted with satisfaction. In order to stimulate interregional contacts, an agreement was reached on thorough preparations for the second Forum in Hungary.

In order to intensify business, tourist and cultural exchanges, the issues of developing direct air routes between the two countries were also discussed.

Special attention was paid to building up practical cooperation in the cultural and humanitarian sphere.

Last October, a bust of great poet Alisher Navoi was unveiled in Lakitelek. Days of Uzbek cinema were held in Budapest in January this year.

It was proposed to declare next year as the Year of Uzbek and Hungarian Culture. Preparations are underway for performance of the ballet “Lazgi” on the stage of the State Opera Theater of Hungary and holding an exhibition of Uzbek culture in the Ethnographic Museum of Budapest.

Within the framework of educational exchanges, cooperation will be continued through the “Stipendium Hungaricum” program. The possibilities of introducing a system of double diplomas and establishing branches of Hungarian universities in our country have also been considered.

In this context, it was proposed to hold the third Uzbek-Hungarian Rectors' Forum in Tashkent this year.

The leaders exchanged views on the current international and regional agenda. They emphasized the importance of continuing cooperation in the fight against terrorism, extremism, drug trafficking, human trafficking and other contemporary security challenges.

In order to establish control over the implementation of the agreements, the responsible ministries have been instructed to prepare a joint roadmap.

At the end of the meeting, President Shavkat Mirziyoyev invited Prime Minister Viktor Orbán to pay a return visit to Uzbekistan.