Central Asia from the Perspective of Hungarian Economic Diplomacy

Abstract

The spring of 2022 marked the beginning of a new geopolitical era, the like of which last occurred in the last decade of the 20th century, and which has since brought about a drastic and fundamental structural transformation never before expected. The “Middle Corridor” - multimodal transport route includes Central Asia - between China and Europe has become more prominent. In an economic sense increasingly open, rich in resources Central Asian countries are increasingly important foreign trade partners also for Hungary. There is much criticism of this Hungarian “Turkic relationship building“, often identifying it with obliterated Turanic sympathies, however in today's crisis, competitive advantage must be exploited of the fact that in Central Asia Hungary is considered “the most eastern of the Western and the most western of the Eastern related folk“. This study aims to analyse the economic relations between Central Asia and Hungary by presenting the typical economic performances of Central Asian countries, with a view to contextualize in a Hungarian economic diplomacy sense.