OREANDA-NEWS. May 4, 2012. Within the official visit of Prime Minister of Hungary Viktor Orban to the Republic of Kazakhstan on May 3-4, 2012, a number of meetings on discussion of the trade-economic issues and investment, economic cooperation with President Nursultan Nazarbayev and Prime Minister of Kazakhstan Karim Massimov were held in Astana.

 Also the third session of intergovernmental commission for trade-economic cooperation was held. The interim results of the cooperation were announced at the session. Moreover, representatives of about 50 Hungarian enterprises took part in the Kazakhstani-Hungarian business forum. During the visit the sides signed interdepartmental and commercial treaties.

 They are the memorandum of cooperation between JSC “NC “Kazakhstan Temir Zholy” and CJSC “Hungarian State Railways”, which was indorsed by signatures of Vice President of JSC “NC “KTZ” Yerkhat Iskaliyev and Deputy Director General of the Hungarian railways Laszlo Mosoczi.

 The document implementation is directed to increase turnover in export and import of the two countries; transportation development on the transcontinental routes in Asia-Europe international communication and in opposite direction. The sides intend to conduct the joint work on projects implementation in the transport-logistics sphere; coordinate efforts on the mutually beneficial cooperation development in the sphere of rail infrastructure modernization, actively use the transit potential of Kazakhstan and Hungary for increase in railway freight on the international transport corridors.

 Moreover, the agreement implementation provides organizational and information support on a mutual basis in the logistics field, paying special attention to investment opportunities of Zahony center and FEZ “Khorgos-Eastern Gate.” KTZ and the Hungarian railways intend to develop cooperation in the joint projects in the field of diagnostics, construction, development and modernization of the facilities of the rail infrastructure.

 * Hungary is one of the strategic transport hubs of the Middle-Eastern Europe, on its eastern border - Zahony - serves as a node of the Hungarian railway hub with gauge of 1520 mm and 1435 mm. Zahony as the Eastern Gate represents one of the key commercial points of entry in the direction of the European Union not only for Eastern European region, but for rapidly developing Asian countries as well. Qualitative services provided by the national railway company of Hungary and its subsidiary enterprises promote economic and safe railway freight expansion and fruitful commercial ties formation.