On the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the establishment of the diplomatic relations between Hungary and the Republic of Türkiye H. E. Gülşen Karanis Ekşioğlu, ambassador of the Republic of Türkiye in Budapest, as the guest of honour gave a lecture and participated in a round table discussion in the university's Saint Ladislaus Chapel on 19th of September.
As the host of the event, ambassador Iván Gyurcsík, rector's advisor for regional cooperation, welcomed the guests. In his speech, he remembered Turkologist, János Hóvári, the executive director of the Representation Office of the Organization of Turkic States in Hungary (OTS), who gave a lecture on Hungarian-Turkish diplomatic relations in the framework of the Ludovika Free University this April. He was originally supposed to be one of today's experts, but unfortunately he passed away recently. "János Hóvári devoted his life to Turkology, earned a respectable position in Hungarian diplomacy with his excellent service as ambassador, and greatly contributed to the development of cooperation between Hungary and Turkey. We will not forget his valuable work!” - said Iván Gyurcsík, and then the participants remembered János Hóvári with a minute of silence.
The event continued with the welcome speech of rector Gergely Deli. It was said: the Ludovika University of Public Service (LUPS) maintains close relations with numerous Turkish universities and research institutes, and has inter-institutional agreements with 9 Turkish institutions. In the framework of Erasmus+ mobility programs, the university hosted 13 Turkish students in the last academic year, 12 Hungarian students studied in Turkish higher education institutions, and 18 participated in staff mobility programs. The rector also highlighted that in the previous semester, UPS welcomed Selman Salim Kesgin, research coordinator of the Turkish Red Crescent Academy, lecturer at Ankara University of Social Sciences, as part of the Ludovika Scholars guest lecturer program. He gave a lecture at UPS’ Institute of Disaster Management, in which he highlighted and thanked the HUNOR rescue team for the assistance provided in connection with the recent earthquake in Turkey. "We intend to further expand bilateral cooperation with Turkish universities and research institutes," Gergely Deli concluded his greeting.
The guest of honour, H. E. Gülşen Karanis Ekşioğlu studied at the Faculty of Political Science of Ankara University, and in 2014 she obtained an MBA degree at Bahçeşehir University in Istanbul. She studied at Yale University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. She was a board member of the Turkish-German Business Council and is currently a member of the board of trustees of the Genç Hayat Foundation in Istanbul. Her Excellency has been the coordinator of the Antalya Diplomatic Forum since 2020, and since July 2022 she is the Ambassador of Türkiye to Hungary.
In her speech, the ambassador said: UPS plays an important role in the development of Turkish-Hungarian relations. In connection with the historical review, she highlighted: from the beginning of the 19th century, the attention of Hungarians turned towards the Ottoman Empire - after the defeat of the Hungarian revolution of 1848-49, several of its leaders found refuge in the Ottoman Empire. Sultan Abdul-Aziz received a warm welcome during his visit to Pest-Buda in 1867. By the end of the century, the Turkish-Hungarian cultural and commercial relations were both strengthened. They fought as allies during the First World War, and between the two World Wars, many Hungarian engineers, scientists and other public administration officials contributed to the development of modern Ankara. In connection with Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, it was said that he studied Hungarian and also studied Hungarian culture. We are distant relatives, close neighbours and strategic partners - stated the ambassador. We are trying to meet today's challenges together, one of the important elements of this is the issue of energy security. 2025 will be the year of technology and innovation: we will work together in many fields, such as the energy sector or the space industry, said Gülşen Karanis Ekşioğlu. She added: predictable, stable regional relations are very important in today's world.
The ambassador talked about the joint efforts of the two countries against illegal immigration, described the results achieved in this area, and then thanked Hungary for the help provided in connection with the earthquake. "A good friend is best known in trouble. Hungary proved that it is our good friend. I wish this friendship to last forever," she concluded.
The ambassador and Zoltán Egeresi, researcher of the Institute of Strategic Defence Studies of the UPS, took part in the round table discussion which was moderated by Péter Zachar, vice dean for international affairs at the Faculty of Public Governance and International Studies. In connection with Turkey's role in the field of energy security, the beneficial geopolitical role of the state was discussed and how much help it would be in the current war situation if the Nabucco gas pipeline was built as planned. The Turkish state has increased its storage capacities, thus playing an important role in terms of energy security. Regarding the importance of diversification, it was said that it must be worked on consistently, and that the construction of each pipeline is the result of many years. There was also talk of the defence industry coming to the fore, defence cooperation between the two countries, the development of the new world order, issues of modernity, and the role of the exchange of experts and the transfer of experience.