Hungary’s Eastern Opening Policy and Cooperation with the Turkic States in the Fields of Trade, Transport and Energy

Abstract

The present study depicts Hungary’s eastern opening policy as to when and how it was initiated, then analyses Hungary’s increasing economic, transport and energy relations with the Turkic countries, namely, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Türkiye, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. In the first part, the reasons and expectations of the Hungarian Government in initiating the eastern opening are explained and the priorities the Hungarian Government put forward in starting this initiative are mentioned. In the second part, the development of the idea of the Organization of Turkic States and the road to institutionalisation is summarised and Hungary’s link into the system, which is a critical element of the Eastern Opening, is delved into. In the following section, the economic benefits that Hungary is seeking to reach in the relations with the Turkic states are underlined and then the increasing trade with Turkic states are put forward as part of the developing commercial relations with special reference to Hungary’s observer status in the Organization of Turkic States. In the fourth part, the increasing significance of the Middle Corridor, which is the route that links China to Europe through Central Asia, is shown and the importance attached to this corridor by the Hungarian Government is summarised. In the fifth part, the energy cooperation between Hungary and the Turkic states is mentioned, with which Hungary exerts efforts to become a hub for energy in Europe. In the conclusion part, after a summary of Hungary’s achievements from the eastern opening policy and the relations with the Turkic countries, the potential of Hungary’s opening to the Turkic world is explained.