Photo: Balázs Orbán/Facebook
Eurasia
16/02/2024 11:01
However, this view of the geopolitical order of the world has been proven to be wrong in recent years. In a change of character, the United States is now engaged in the strategy of ‘bloc forming’ again, reminiscent of the Cold War era. The author also talked about the strategy of ‘decoupling,’ which refers to the severing of ties between two economies. ‘De-risking’ is a softer version of that—both terms are quite popular among the Washington leadership these days, in reference to dealing with the Eastern power bloc, most notably China.
As for Hungary’s place in the new world order, the focus of the second part of Balázs Orbán’s book, the author stressed that the country has a very open, connected economy. It is very export-oriented as well, with the combined value of its exported goods reaching as high as 90 per cent of the annual GDP. Given that we are not rich in natural resources, Orbán continued, we also have to heavily rely on imports as well.
Therefore, bloc forming and decoupling are not in the national interest of Hungary.
Mr Orbán reminded all of the great economic improvements Hungary has made since 2010, which it achieved by being a ‘complex, export-oriented, innovative economy,’ as he put it. However, all this could only be achieved by being highly connected to Eastern economies as well, and with the help of a high volume of FDI (foreign direct investment) inflows.
Mr Orbán is under no delusion that the Hungarian government could change the worldview of the greatest superpowers of the West. However, the country does not have to take instructions from them either, and can follow its own strategy of connectivity, cultivating economic ties with countries from the Eastern bloc as well. The speaker also discussed in detail Hungary’s aspiration of becoming a ‘keystone state’ in the region, which he defined as states small in landmass and population that can still influence international political systems as leading regional powers.
In April 2025, Tashkent will host the 150th anniversary Assembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) for the first time in the history of Central Asia. This event brings together over 2000 parliamentarians from more than 100 national parliaments, providing a unique opportunity to discuss key global issues.
On April 3-4 of this year, Samarkand will host the first-ever high-level meeting between the European Union and the Central Asian countries. This landmark event will open a new chapter in relations between the regions, marking a transition to a qualitatively new level of multilateral cooperation. The very fact of organizing such a dialogue highlights the EU's strong interest in developing cooperation and its commitment to strengthening partnerships with the Central Asian states.
On 31 March, the city of Khujand, Tajikistan, hosted a trilateral summit attended by President Shavkat Mirziyoyev of Uzbekistan, President Sadyr Japarov of Kyrgyzstan, and President Emomali Rahmon of Tajikistan. This momentous occasion marked the culmination of the border delimitation process among the three nations, a pivotal milestone in Central Asian geopolitics.