Szijjarto: Hungarian companies to upgrade strategic sectors in Uzbekistan

The Uzbek and Hungarian governments on Tuesday signed nine agreements in Tashkent, paving the way for Hungarian companies to upgrade strategic sectors in Uzbekistan, Peter Szijjarto, the minister of foreign affairs and trade, told MTI. OTP, Hungary's biggest bank, is the first foreign bank to be given the opportunity to take part in the Uzbek banking system's privatisation, with related negotiations at an advanced stage, the minister said. Also, Hungary is expected to pay a major role in boosting Uzbek nuclear energy production. Uzbekistan, the world's 7th largest uranium producer, is building a new nuclear power plant to be completed by the end of the decade, and the design of the cooling system is based on a Hungarian patent, Szijjarto said.