The MNB has always paid particular attention to its international bilateral professional relations and cooperation with international economic organisations and financial institutions. In the 2010s, changes in the global international relationship system and geopolitical shifts necessitated a review of the central bank’s traditional policy of international relations, as well as the establishment of a new international central banking relationship system to better fit the changed world order.
To achieve this goal, a strategy for external relations was developed, focusing on a balance between the West and the East. While the new approach did not overturn existing practices – the established relations with the European Union and other institutions remain of paramount importance, and international relationship-building continues to focus on strengthening and further developing these ties – it did involve the central bank becoming more open towards the East, creating a more balanced system of international relations between the West and the East. Finally, the goal was to establish closer relations with central banks in the Central and Eastern European region, which serve as a bridge connecting the West and the East, thereby creating a platform of shared understanding.
In addition, it was deemed important for the MNB to become as widely recognised as possible through its international role, and to channel the work of the Hungarian central bank into the international professional bloodstream to the greatest possible extent. It was also established as a goal for Budapest to host more international programmes, conferences, forums, and events related to the central bank, through which we can showcase the professional work being done at the MNB.
Maintaining its previous international activities, the MNB continues to place special emphasis on its multilateral and bilateral international professional relations, as well as its active participation in the professional forums of international economic organizations and financial institutions (including the European Central Bank (ECB), the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), and the Bank for International Settlements (BIS)). This commitment is reflected in the fact that MNB executives and experts participate in the work of more than 320 international bodies (committees, subcommittees, working groups, etc.), representing the interests of both Hungary and the central bank. As a central bank in the European Union, the MNB’s closest professional relations are with the European Central Bank (ECB) and the national central banks belonging to the European System of Central Banks (ESCB).
In addition to its close relations with the aforementioned institutions and the central banks of the EU member states, the MNB also places significant emphasis on cooperation with the central banks of emerging countries outside the EU. One aspect of this is the MNB’s participation in bilateral technical assistance programmes. This involves the MNB regularly hosting delegations from non-EU central banks for the purpose of studying specific areas, and sending experts abroad for professional consultation in turn.
In order to broadly showcase the best practices of Hungarian central banking, as well as the knowledge concentrated in the institution, the MNB successfully launched its technical assistance (TA) programme in 2023, which continues to operate in 2024. Under the MNB’s TA programme, experts from primarily non-EU central banks partnered with the MNB can participate in 3.5-day seminars on topics of special interest. Until 2024, a total of 8 seminars were held on various topics under this initiative, with more than 200 central bank experts participating from nearly 25 countries.
In addition, from 2013 the MNB started to open to the East in the area of financial relations in order to boost the country’s economic recovery, competitiveness and financial stability, and then extended this opening to innovation, education and culture with a holistic approach. Thus, the MNB also participates in the Eastern Opening policy, and the analytical work performed by the central bank has been extended accordingly, to process and present financial, economic, foreign and domestic political, and geopolitical developments regarding the relations in question.
The MNB places great emphasis on nurturing Hungarian-Chinese relations, placing increased emphasis on the importance of personal connections and trust. The MNB continues to strengthen its relations with the People’s Bank of China. Furthermore, in recent years, the MNB has established professional relations and cooperation with the most important research institutes and universities in China (including the Development Research Center of the State Council, DRC; the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, CASS; the China Development Institute; and the Center for China and Globalization, CCG) in order to channel the results of its professional work in Hungary into the professional background institutions of Chinese policy, in addition to joint research. Building relationships with Chinese financial institutions has also been successful, as two of China’s four largest commercial banks already have representation in Hungary (Bank of China, China Construction Bank). Furthermore, the MNB also maintains active relationships with a number of additional organisations (e.g. the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, China Development Bank, Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, Silk Road Fund).
Beyond its extensive network of contacts in China, the MNB also has a great number of key institutional partners in every Asian region. The Hungarian central bank has established active professional relations with monetary authorities in South Korea (Bank of Korea, BOK), Singapore (Monetary Authority of Singapore, MAS), and the United Arab Emirates (Central Bank of the United Arab Emirates, CBUAE), and maintains particularly successful relations with the central banks of the Central Asian region (National Bank of Kazakhstan, Central Bank of Uzbekistan, Bank of Mongolia) and with the Kazakh and Mongolian supervisory authorities.
The expansion of MNB’s international relationship network and its efforts to build new channels of communication with foreign partners are well served by its cooperation with international research centres and think tanks (such as the Official Monetary and Financial Institutions Forum (OMFIF), the International Institute of Finance (IIF), the Group of Thirty (G30), The European Money and Finance Forum (SUERF) and the European Association for Banking and Financial History (EABH)), through which MNB analysts can access the stores of information and knowledge bases accumulated by various research institutes and think tanks, supporting the professional work conducted at the central bank. Additionally, the achievements of foreign think tanks can be channelled into the MNB’s educational programmes by inviting foreign experts and speakers, as well as through joint research, events, and publications.
The international conferences and expert forums organized by the MNB form an important cornerstone of its efforts to strengthen its international relations.
- Launched in 2014, the Lámfalussy Lectures Conference has become one of the MNB’s most important international annual conferences, which, in line with the exemplary life’s work of its namesake, has succeeded in initiating new shared ways of thinking, to better align with the new role of the world’s central banks while remaining true to our platform of core values.
- Taking stock of global economic, financial and geopolitical developments, the MNB decided in 2019 to launch a series of events entitled the Budapest Eurasia Forum. The Forum aims to strengthen Hungary’s role as a bridge between East and West through Eurasian cooperation, to promote dialogue between countries with different cultures and characteristics, and to lay the theoretical foundations for a long-term sustainable economy.
- Additionally, since 2015, the Budapest Renminbi Initiative Conference has been held annually as part of the Central Bank Renminbi Programme.