"The developments can be seen clearly by the whole world," Orban said, adding, "This city (Istanbul) and the country can no longer be called as 'outskirts'. Turkey will play key roles in the future."
Underlining that he was very surprised why it was so late to inaugurate such a Hungarian culture centre in Turkey, Hungarian premier said he found the answer on his way to the ceremony.
"Because 13 years ago, when I last came to Turkey, there was a different prime minister in the country and different politics. Now, 13 years later, I can see huge differences, not only in technical terms, but also developments with roads and bridges, as well as high-speed train projects, buildings, and also the people who believe in their strength."
Stating the modern world did not really like such kind of cultural relations as opening a culture center, Hungarian Prime Minister stressed friendship and culture served as a basis of everything.
"If we have a look at the history, we can see that the two nations always had the tie of 'friendship' and 'culture'," he said. "It is good to be a Hungarian in Turkey, and similarly a Turk in Hungary."
The project of opening such a culture center was accelerated after the visit of Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan to Hungary in February, Orban noted, a visit which he said strengthened the cooperation between two countries.
The ceremony also hosted Turkish EU Minister and Chief Negotiator Egemen Bagis, as well as Turkish Culture and Tourism Minister Omer Celik, Istanbul Mayor Kadir Topbas, and Patriarch of the Fener Rum Orthodox Patriarchate in Istanbul Bartholomew.
"The mutual history of Turkey and Hungary is based on mutual love and cooperation," said Bagis pointing to the 'strong' friendship between two nations.
Turkish minister said the friendship will be passed down to next generations with the help of the Hungarian Culture Center.
Apart from the one in Istanbul inaugurated on Tuesday, there are 19 Hungarian Institutes operating in 17 countries as part of the Balassi Institute’s network, making a contribution to presenting Hungarian values in major cultural cities of the world.
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