Hungarian FM due in Islamabad

By Our Diplomatic
Correspondent

ISLAMABAD: Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade of Hungary, Peter Szijjarto will arrive here Friday on his maiden official visit, on the invitation of Foreign Minister Makhdoom Shah Mahmood Qureshi.
Foreign Minister Szijjarto will be accompanied by a high-level business delegation comprising over 20 leading businessmen to explore business opportunities in Pakistan, a Foreign Office statement said.
Besides one-on-one meeting with Foreign Minister Qureshi, the Hungarian foreign minister will also have delegation-level talks.
The talks will review the existing bilateral relations and chart the way forward for taking the relationship to the next level.
The two foreign ministers will particularly focus on enhancing cooperation in bilateral trade, economy and other potential areas such as agricultural research and food industry, environment industry including waste and water resource management, science and engineering technology, and higher education. The two foreign ministers would also exchange views on regional and international issues.
Both foreign ministers will jointly address Pakistan-Hungary Economic Diplomacy event, which will be attended by Hungarian business delegation as well as representatives of Pakistani companies.
The two foreign ministers had, last month, virtually launched the Hungary-Pakistan Trade and Economic Window and addressed the first-ever Hungary-Pakistan Business Forum attended by over 100 companies from both sides. During the visit, Foreign Minister Szijjarto will also interact with other dignitaries.
Bilateral cooperation is growing between Pakistan and Hungary across a wide range of areas of common interest. Deepening collaboration in economic, trade, energy and investment sectors is the focus of the two governments.
The visit of Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade of Hungary will positively contribute to cementing the multifaceted bilateral relationship and enhancing mutual understanding on regional and international issues.
Meanwhile, Ambassador of Hungary in Islamabad Béla Fazekas Thursday called on Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi and briefed him on the forthcoming visit of the Hungarian Foreign Minister to Pakistan.
On the invitation of Foreign Minister Qureshi, Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade of Hungary Peter Szijjarto will arrive here on Friday (April 30) on his maiden official visit along with a high-level business delegation comprising over 20 leading businessmen.
During the meeting, they also exchanged views on promotion of economic and trade, cultural and academic ties between the two countries.
The ambassador briefed the minister on the unique culture of the people of Hungary and his country’s historical ties with Central Asia.
The foreign minister said he was looking forward to welcoming Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto to Pakistan and hoped that the visit would provide further momentum to the existing cordial ties and growing cooperation. The foreign minister agreed with the ambassador’s views on maintaining regular high-level exchanges between the two countries.