The Forum attended by Turkic Council Secretary General Baghdad Amreyev, State Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade of Hungary Tamás Vargha, CEO of Hungarian Export Promotion Agency Kristóf Dr. Szabó as well as Board Members of the Turkic Chamber of Commerce and Industry as well as more than 100 business representatives from the Member and Observer States.
In the opening speech, Secretary General Baghdad Amreyev noted that over the last three years, Hungary has put a lot of emphasis on upgrading its ties and elevated its cooperation to a strategic level with all of Turkic Council members.
Highlighting the importance of Turkic Council European Office in Budapest, which was opened in 2019 as a new center of attraction for boosting worthwhile cooperation in various fields, particularly in the economic field, Secretary General called on the Turkic business communities to benefit from its potential.
Talking about the future cooperation plans of Turkic Council with Hungary, Secretary General expressed his confidence that the Organization will continue working hand in hand with Hungary and bring economic ties to a higher degree, including creation of a financial background that would help developing projects through allocation of financial resources provided by Hungarian EXIM Bank.
He underlined that roundtable discussions organized during the Forum will pave the way for stronger inter-company cooperation in the focus sectors (agriculture and food industry, water industry, health sector and ICT) through major joint investment projects to be launched soon.
State Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade of Hungary, H.E. Tamas Vargha emphasized the important role of the Turkic Council in consolidating ties among its members in different fields. Stressing the solidarity shown by the Member States during the pandemic, State Secretary expressed his hope that trade and economic relations within Turkic Council region will be further strengthened.
President of TCCI and Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey, Mr. Rifat Hisarciliklioglu underlined the importance of implementing international arbitrage in promoting and attracting foreign investments in the Member States, executing common standards in customs procedures and being involved into the e-TIR system. He also expressed the readiness of TOBB to share its experience in modernization of customs gates.
CEO of Hungarian Export Promotion Agency (HEPA), Mr. Kristof Szabo mentioning about challenges of current economic situation, briefed the participants of the Forum about the activities of Hungary in reviving the national economy through new mechanisms towards increasing trade and investments.
Head of HEPA also stressed the readiness of Hungary in sharing its extensive experience in water management and drought prevention to ensure the efficiency of agricultural production in the Turkic Council members. He expressed his hope that the Forum would serve an essential platform for businessmen to enhance business ties between Hungary and Turkic Council member countries.
Executive Director of European Office of the Turkic Council, H.E. Janos Hovary in his remarks stressed the increasing relations of Hungary with Turkic Council Member countries since obtaining the observer status in the Organization, particularly in the field of trade and investments. He said that the European Office will further play an active role in promoting Turkic economic potential in Europe and building new avenues for business and investment opportunities.
Chief International Officer of Hungarian Export Important Bank (EXIM) Hungary made a presentation about financing and insurance opportunities of EXIM as an integrated system to support Hungarian foreign trade and economy. Having informed the participants about the credit lines opened for the Turkic Council member countries and requirements for project financing, he expressed the willingness of EXIM to further strengthen Hungarian – Turkic economic cooperation and increase the number of joint ventures in the coming years.
President of Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Uzbekistan, Mr. Adkham Ikramov, vice presidents of Hungarian and Kyrgyzstan Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Azerbaijan National Confederation of Entrepreneurs as well as Chairman of the Board of “Atameken” made for the participants of the Forum country specific presentations.
The representatives of TOBB, Hungarian Investments Promotion Agency (HIPA) and Hungarian EXIM presented their activities, opportunities and cooperation perspectives.
Following the plenary sessions, sectorial specific roundtables for businessmen in agriculture and food industry, health, ICT and water construction/other industries were organized.
