Hungary–Kurdistan Region relations

Hungary–Kurdistan Region relations

Hungary
Iraqi Kurdistan

Hungary–Kurdistan Region relations are bilateral relations between Hungary and the Kurdistan Region[note 1]. Hungary has been represented in Kurdistan Region through a consulate general since November 2014,[1] while Kurdistan Region has no representation in Hungary. Nevertheless, the relations are characterized by several high-level talks and close ties.[2] The Kurdish President Massoud Barzani has visited Hungary in 2012 and in 2015 on official visits.[3][4]

In 2015, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán uttered support for the independence of Kurdistan Region from Iraq causing concern in Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq.[5][6] To strengthen the ties between Hungary and the autonomous region, the main street in Rawanduz has been renamed after the Hungarian revolutionary leader Lajos Kossuth.[7]

History

Communist Hungary and Kurdish rebels

When Abd al-Karim Qasim ruled Iraq from 1958 to 1963, the communist Hungarian People's Republic began assisting Iraqis and the Kurdish minority with educational matters, and Kurdish students were allowed to study in Budapest.[8][9] After the Ba'athist takeover in 1963, the First Iraqi–Kurdish War was intensified by the Kurdistan Democratic Party led by Mustafa Barzani and many Kurdish guerillas were sent for treatment to Hungary. This assistance continued under the Second Iraqi–Kurdish War from 1974 to 1975. In the same decade, Patriotic Union of Kurdistan was founded and has had close diplomatic ties to the Hungarian Socialist Party, both being members of the Socialist International.[8] During the Iran–Iraq War, Hungarian ambassadors in Baghdad occasionally reported back to Budapest about the situation concerning the Kurdish guerillas against Saddam Hussein.[10][11][12]

Strengthen of relations between Kurdistan Region and Hungary

Even though the autonomy of Kurdistan Region was established in 1992, ties between Kurdistan Region and Hungary were not strengthened before the Government of Viktor Orbán in 2012. In that year, Kurdish President Massoud Barzani and a delegation visited Hungary for the first time, where they met Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, President László Kövér, Foreign Minister János Martonyi, Economic Minister György Matolcsy and Deputy Speaker of Parliament István Jakab to discuss ways to develop cooperation in various sectors, including investment, agriculture, education and energy. After the meeting, President Barzani said that the meeting was an "important step towards establishing strong bilateral relations", while Martonyi described it as of "historical significance".[3][13] The year after, Kurdish Foreign Minister Falah Mustafa visited Hungary to meet the State Secretary at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Zsolt Németh to discuss political, economic, cultural, and educational ties.[14] Hungarian Deputy State Secretary for Global Affairs Péter Wintermantel visited Erbil in April 2014,[15] while a memorandum of understanding was signed between the two parties in November 2014.[16]

In this period, the Hungarian multinational oil and gas company MOL Group opened an office in the Kurdish capital of Erbil[17] and has since developed a major oil field and purchased Kurdish oil.[18] In 2016, MOL Group reached a deal with Kurdistan Region to relinquish its share in Akri-Bijeel block.[19]

In January 2017, Kurdistan Region offered scholarships for Hungarian students.[20]

Military aid to Peshmerga

After the so-called Islamic State (ISIS) entered Iraq and captured Mosul during the Northern Iraq offensive, Western countries including Hungary aided Kurdish soldiers or Peshmerga militarily. In August 2014, Hungary dispatched over 50 tonnes of ammunition to the Peshmerga,[21][22] (In an Rudaw article from May 2016, it was mentioned that Hungary has sent over 275 tons of ammunition in total),[23] while 116 Hungarian soldiers were sent to Kurdistan to train the Peshmerga in September 2015.[24][25] In December 2015, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó visited Kurdistan and pledged humanitarian aid worth 300 million USD, whilst visiting the Hungarian soldiers stationed there.[26] Hungarian Defence Minister István Simicskó visited Kurdistan in May 2016 to discuss the war against ISIS and the ties between Hungary and Kurdistan.[23] During his trip, he announced that 110 types of advanced weapons would be sent to Kurdistan.[27] Hungary has also taken in dozens of Peshmerga for medical treatment.[28]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Consulate General of the Republic of Hungary". Retrieved 2 April 2017.
  2. ↑ "A successful Kurdistan is in Hungary's interest". Kormany.hu. 11 May 2015. Retrieved 2 April 2017.
  3. 1 2 "President Barzani meets Hungary's leaders in Budapest". Kurdistan Regional Government. 11 April 2012. Retrieved 2 April 2017.
  4. ↑ "Barzanî çû Mecaristanê" (in Kurdish). 10 May 2015. Retrieved 2 April 2017.
  5. ↑ "Hungary greets Barzani, supports independence". Rudaw. 11 May 2015. Retrieved 2 April 2017.
  6. ↑ "Shiite party 'concerned' at Hungary's support for Kurdish independence". Rudaw. 12 May 2015. Retrieved 2 April 2017.
  7. ↑ "Kurdish poetry anthology published in Hungarian". Daily News Hungary. 24 February 2017. Retrieved 4 April 2017.
  8. 1 2 "Magyarország és Kurdisztán közti kapcsolatok" (in Hungarian). Raouf Hallo. 7 May 2008. Retrieved 2 April 2017.
  9. ↑ "East Europe". East Europe Publishing Company. 10: 15. 1961. Retrieved 2 April 2017.
  10. ↑ Csaba Békés, László J. Nagy & Dániel Vékony (5 November 2015). "Bittersweet Friendships: Relations between Hungary and the Middle East, 1953–1988". Wilson Center. Retrieved 2 April 2017.
  11. ↑ Zsigmond Kázmér (22 May 1987). "May 22, 1987 - Report of the Hungarian Ambassador in Iran on recent developments of the Iraq–Iran war". Wilson Center. Retrieved 2 April 2017.
  12. ↑ Zoltán Pereszlényi (4 October 1987). "October 04, 1987 - Report of the Hungarian Embassy in Iraq on the characteristics of the activity of the opposition forces in Iraq and the reaction of the Iraqi leadership". Wilson Center. Retrieved 2 April 2017.
  13. ↑ "Az iraki Kurdisztáni Régió elnökének magyarországi látogatása". Kormany (in Hungarian). 2 April 2012. Retrieved 2 April 2017.
  14. ↑ "Kurdistan and Hungary Seek to Strengthen Relations". Kurdistan Regional Government. 16 November 2013. Retrieved 2 April 2017.
  15. ↑ "Hungarian Deputy State Secretary visits Kurdistan". Department of Foreign Relations. 1 April 2014. Retrieved 2 April 2017.
  16. ↑ "Hungary Opens Consulate General in Iraqi Kurdistan". DailyNews Hungary. 13 November 2014. Retrieved 2 April 2017.
  17. ↑ "MOL Opens its Regional Office in Erbil, Kurdistan Region of Iraq". Molgroup. 29 June 2014. Retrieved 2 April 2017.
  18. ↑ "Hungary deal boosts outlook for direct Kurdish oil sales". Rudaw. 30 October 2014. Retrieved 2 April 2017.
  19. ↑ "Hungary's MOL Group Expands Investment In Iraq's Kurdistan Region". Hungary Today. 12 January 2016. Retrieved 2 April 2017.
  20. ↑ "Ösztöndíjak várják a magyar hallgatókat Kurdisztánban". magyarhirlap.hu. 8 January 2017. Retrieved 4 April 2017.
  21. ↑ "Hungary Defence Official Meets Washington Officials". DailyNews Hungary. 21 November 2014. Retrieved 2 April 2017.
  22. ↑ "Hungarian mission in the fight against ISIS: Fidesz needed the help of the opposition". Hungarian Spectrum. 14 April 2015. Retrieved 2 April 2017.
  23. 1 2 "Hungarian Defence Minister arrives in Erbil to discuss ISIS war". Rudaw. 10 March 2016. Retrieved 2 April 2017.
  24. ↑ "Hungary sends special forces to Kurdistan Region". Kurdpress. Retrieved 2 April 2017.
  25. ↑ "Magyarok az Iszlám Állam ellen". válasz.hu (in Hungarian). 30 September 2015. Retrieved 2 April 2017.
  26. ↑ "Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó proposes USD 300 million aid for Iraqi Kurdistan". Kormany.hu. 7 October 2015. Retrieved 2 April 2017.
  27. ↑ "Hungary to increase military assistance to Peshmerga". Kurdistan24. 10 May 2016. Retrieved 2 April 2017.
  28. ↑ "758 wounded Peshmerga receive treatment abroad: Ministry". Kurdistan24. 15 March 2017. Retrieved 2 April 2017.

Notes

  1. ↑ While Kurdistan Region refers to the autonomous Kurdish region in Northern Iraq, Iraqi Kurdistan is a geographical term referring to the Kurdish area of Iraq. They are therefore not identical, though most of Iraqi Kurdistan is incorporated in Kurdistan Region.

Further reading

  • Zorab Aloian. "Kurdish Theme in the Hungarian Universities (1945-1995)". pen-kurd.org. Retrieved 2 April 2017.
  • Aloian, Zorab (2008). The image of the Kurds in Hungary : Hungarian material on the Kurds from the Ottoman times until the end of the twentieth century. Spånga: Apec. ISBN 9789189675711.
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