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.
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