AZERBAIJAN: Hungary opens trading house in Azerbaijan as it launches "Opening Towards the East" economic policy

Record ID: 218299

  • Title: AZERBAIJAN: Hungary opens trading house in Azerbaijan as it launches "Opening Towards the East" economic policy
  • Date: 5th December 2012
  • Summary: BAKU, AZERBAIJAN (DECEMBER 5, 2012) (REUTERS) ( * BEWARE FLASH PHOTOGRAPHY **) EXTERIOR OF BAKU BUSINESS CENTRE SIGN ON BUILDING "BAKU BUSINESS CENTRE" WIDE OF MEETING OF AZERI-HUNGARIAN INTERGOVERNMENTAL COMMISSION MEETING PARTICIPANTS LISTENING HUNGARIAN STATE SECRETARY PETER SZIJJARTO MEETING PARTICIPANTS LISTENING WIDE OF MEETING PEOPLE OUTSIDE HUNGARIAN TRADING HOUSE
  • Embargoed: 20th December 2012 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Azerbaijan
  • Country: Azerbaijan
  • Topics: International Relations,Economy,Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVA74DDW1YUQBGYLXLDMLV3YCH9W
  • Story Text: Hungary opens its first trading centre in the Azeri capital Baku as a first step in its new foreign economic policy "Opening Towards the East."
    Hungary opened its trading centre in the Azerbaijan capital Baku on Wednesday (December 5) with a ceremony that marked the launch of its new economic policy "Opening Towards the East."
    Hungarian State Secretary and co-chair of the Azerbaijani-Hungarian intergovernmental economic commission Peter Szijjarto and Azeri Economic Development Minister Shakhin Mustafayev took part in the ribbon-cutting ceremony at the Hungarian trading centre.
    "When we came into the office we decided to launch a new foreign police and a new foreign economic policy which is called "Opening Towards East" and in the framework of this policy we declare Azerbaijan one of our most important strategic partners and, in our experience in the last 2-2,5 years the supply side of the Hungarian economy and the demand side of the Azeri market fit well together," said Peter Szijjarto.
    According to Szijjarto more trading houses will be opened in various countries in the East over the next two years.
    "We declare Azerbaijan one of the guarantors of the future energy security of Europe, so on this occasion we are strategic partners, so that was the reason why we opened up the first trading house in Baku, in Azerbaijan, but this is a concept of the Hungarian government because we would like to open up five more trading houses next year in Saudi Arabia, in China, in Russia, in Kazakhstan and in Uzbekistan and then five other ones in 2014. And the main task of these trading houses is to promote the export of goods, products and services provided by Hungarian small and medium enterprises on foreign markets," Szijjarto said.
    The opening of the trading centre in Baku comes just over three months after Hungary handed convicted killer Ramil Safarov over to his native Azerbaijan where he received a hero's welcome and was released.
    Safarov had served eight years of a life sentence for killing an Armenian officer during a NATO-sponsored training session in Hungary in 2004.
    Budapest move spark a diplomatic backlash from Armenia which immediately broke diplomatic ties with Hungary
    Hungary has said its actions were consistent with international law and that Azerbaijan had promised to uphold Safarov's sentence.
    While the two countries were in talks about developing closer economic ties, these were in no way linked to the release of the soldier, the Hungarian government has said at the time.
    Armenia and Azerbaijan have been at odds since a war between ethnic Azeris and Armenians that erupted in 1991 over the mainly Armenian Nagorno-Karabakh enclave. A ceasefire was signed in 1994 but new cross-border clashes this year have raised fears of a resumption of fighting.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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