Opening ceremony of the Confucius Institute in Győr
Foreign Affairs Minister Péter Szijjártó emphasized at the opening ceremony of the Confucius Institute in Győr (northwestern Hungary) that its establishment is a sign of mutual respect and is expected to enhance cooperation and strengthen relations between people.
He pointed out that Hungary now has the most Confucius Institutes in Central Europe and thanked the leaders of Jiaxing University in China for deciding to form an alliance with Széchenyi István University.
This is a big step forward for us because, like Széchenyi University, you also place great emphasis on engineering and natural sciences and believe that industry and education must work closely together,”
he said.
He also expressed his belief that the alliance between the two higher education institutions would both strengthen Hungarian-Chinese economic cooperation and give new impetus to strengthening the foundations of the domestic economy.
FM Péter Szijjártó stated that amid the earth-shaking changes taking place in the world, Europe has been weakened to the extreme, and since Brussels “remains stuck in an ideological straitjacket that has long since lost its validity,” the continent has become thoroughly isolated.
And today, not only is Europe not being given a seat at the table where the rules of the future world order are being written, but quite simply, Europe is not sitting at that table at all,”
he said.
“Unlike Europe, however, we Hungarians are sitting at this table. This proves the success of our foreign policy strategy over the past decade, when we set ourselves the goal of making all the world’s major powers interested in Hungary’s success. And we have now achieved this. It is worth considering that the Prime Minister of Hungary is currently the only political leader in Europe who is able to maintain mutually respectful relations with Washington, Moscow, and Beijing at the same time,” he emphasized.
He went on to point out that in the new world order, the role of the Eastern world has strengthened to an astonishing degree, and China has become a decisive player in every respect.
“This confirms the correctness of our decision sixteen years ago to launch the Eastern Opening strategy, that has now led to the establishment of a comprehensive strategic partnership between the People’s Republic of China and Hungary,” he said.
In this regard, he noted that Hungary is one of the best examples of how much can be gained from connectivity,
as Hungary has now become a very important meeting point for Eastern and Western companies, the only country in Europe where these players can cooperate without disruption.
He also pointed out that as a result, five of the world’s ten largest electric battery manufacturers, including three Chinese companies, have settled in Hungary, and today our country is the number one European investment destination for Chinese companies.
FM Péter Szijjártó delivers a speech at the opening ceremony of the Győr Confucius Institute at Széchenyi István University. Photo: MTI/Csaba Krizsán
“Last year, 31 percent of all Chinese corporate investments in Europe went to Hungary (…) These investments represent tens of thousands of modern, reliable jobs for our country, its people and families,” he added.
He also recalled that the two countries have done a lot to further strengthen cooperation, with an agreement on visa-free travel and Budapest being the most accessible city in the region from Chinese cities in terms of flight connections.
Fact
The Confucius Institutes are non-profit institutions dedicated to promoting Chinese language and culture in various countries around the world. In Hungary, the first such institute was established in Budapest in 2006 at Eötvös Loránd University (ELTE). The second institute was founded in 2012 at the University of Szeged. The third Confucius Institute opened at the University of Miskolc. The fourth institute in the country opened in 2015 at the University of Pécs, where students can also study Chinese medicine. The fifth institute was established at the University of Debrecen in 2019. The sixth institute is operational at the Széchenyi István University in Győr.
Related article
Hungarian and Czech Patriots Jointly Say No to Migration and War
Péter Szijjártó stated that this anti-migration policy provides a stable foundation for future cooperation between Hungary and the Czech Republic.Continue reading
Via MTI; Featured photo: MTI/Csaba Krizsán
The post Confucius Institute Opens in Győr, Marking a Record Presence in Central Europe appeared first on Hungary Today.
Source link
