Islamabad: The Foreign Minister Qureshi holds wide-ranging talks with Mr Peter
Szijarto Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade of Hungary Foreign Minister
Makhdoom Shah Mahmood Qureshi held wide-ranging talks with Minister of Foreign
Affairs and Trade of Hungary, Mr. Peter Szijjarto, today. The talks covered
bilateral relations and exchange of views on regional and international issues.
Foreign Minister Szijjarto is visiting Pakistan accompanied by a high-level
official delegation as well as 17 businessmen. The Foreign Minister fondly
recalled his earlier interaction with Foreign Minister Szijjarto during the
inauguration of Hungary-Pakistan Trade and Economic Window (HPTEW). The two
Foreign Ministers held one-on-one meeting, which was followed by
delegation-level talks. The Foreign Ministers reviewed the entire gamut of
bilateral relations and explored ways to deepen existing cooperation across
diverse areas such as trade, economic, agriculture research, food industry,
aviation, energy, water resource management, science & technology, and higher
education. It was agreed to work together to forge a strong bilateral economic
partnership. Foreign Minister Qureshi apprised Foreign Minister Szijjarto of
Pakistan’s steadfast support for a peaceful and stable Afghanistan and positive
contributions to the Afghan peace process. The Foreign Minister underlined the
importance of reduction in violence leading to ceasefire. He also underlined the
imperative of responsible withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan and continued
engagement of the international community to help Afghanistan’s reconstruction
and economic development. The Foreign Minister stressed that the Afghan
stakeholders must seize this historic opportunity and engage constructively to
work out an inclusive, broad-based and comprehensive political solution, through
an Afghan-owned and Afghan-led process. Regarding Indian Illegally Occupied
Jammu & Kashmir (IIOJK), the Foreign Minister highlighted the serious human
rights situation. Foreign Minister Qureshi added that the recent reaffirmation
of ceasefire understanding on the Line of Control (LoC) was in line with
Pakistan’s consistent position on maintaining regional peace and security. The
Foreign Minister underscored the importance of peaceful resolution of Jammu and
Kashmir dispute, stressing that the onus was on India to create an enabling
environment for dialogue. He also mentioned that as a gesture of solidarity with
the people of India in the wake of the current wave of Covid-19, Pakistan had
offered to provide relief support to India. Earlier, the two Foreign Ministers
jointly addressed the Pakistan-Hungary Economic Diplomacy event and encouraged
business community of both countries to enhance mutual collaboration. Foreign
Minister Qureshi highlighted Pakistan’s economic security paradigm and
underlined the shifting focus from geo-politics to geo-economics. He invited
Hungarian companies to take advantage of the business friendly environment in
Pakistan. The two Foreign Ministers witnessed signing of business agreements
between Pakistani and Hungarian companies in the fields of dairy,
pharmaceuticals and cyber security. The Hungarian Government has announced an
exclusive credit-line of $ 84 million for Hungarian companies to do business
with Pakistan. A Loan facility of $ 50 million for projects in fisheries and
food processing was announced by the Hungarian government. The two sides will
also work towards establishing direct air links. An MoU on Cooperation within
the Framework of the Stipendium Hungaricum Program 2020-22 was signed between
the two sides, under which the Hungarian Government will provide 200
scholarships annually to Pakistani students to study in Hungary. Pakistan and
Hungary enjoy friendly relations and close cooperation at bilateral and
multilateral fora. The visit of Foreign Minister Szijjarto will contribute to
reinforcing bilateral economic partnership and enhancing mutual understanding on
regional and international issues. Later the Hungarian delegation also met with
the Prime Minister Imran Khan.
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