Central and Eastern European countries want to enhance relations with Central Asia

BUDAPEST, Feb. 27 (Xinhua) -- Central and Eastern European countries expressed their intent to enhance their relations with Central Asian countries in the fields of politics, economy and security, Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Peter Szijjarto said here on Tuesday.

"A bridge between the Visegrad Countries and Central Asia needs to be built so that mutually beneficial cooperation between the two areas may be achieved in the fields of politics, economy and security," Szijjarto said at a conference gathering his counterparts from the Visegrad Countries (Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic and Slovakia) and the foreign ministers of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.

The Visegrad Countries, commonly referred to as V4, joined the European Union in 2004.

"The two regions are facing similar challenges, and share a similar stance concerning religious radicalism, terrorism as well as illegal migration," he added.

The Central Asian countries' vast reserves of raw materials and water industry investments could be the basis of cooperation, according to Szijjarto.

Szijjarto explained that the Central Asian region could play a key role in the diversification of the European energy supply in the near future. He also recalled that these countries had significant hydropower resources, but used only a small portion of them, hence "Mutually beneficial investments could be made by Central European companies in the region, as there is a large variety of water technology in Hungary and Central Europe."

"One of the points of the Hungarian V4 presidency program is the Global Visegrad, meaning that the V4 - the closest and most effective alliance within the EU - wants to make it clear: the European Union needs external allies and friends to reintegrate world politics and occupy the world economy at the right place it deserves," he stressed.

Kazakh Foreign Minister Kairat Abdrakhmanov declared that V4 can be one of the most crucial and promising partners for the Central Asian countries, for whom it is very useful to study this successful group.

Abdrakhmanov, who called the meeting "based on openness and mutual understanding", mentioned energy, water management and education as potential areas of cooperation.

Kazakhstan contributes significantly to peace, stability, cooperation and sustainable development in the Eurasian region, he added.

Kyrgyzstan's Foreign Minister Erlan Abdyldaev explained that a new chapter in co-operation between the Visegrad and Central Asian states could benefit both sides.

Economic co-operation is paramount, but much attention is also given to educational co-operation, for example, they have pledged to expand the number of student scholarships in Hungary to Kyrgyz students, he said. Enditem