Efforts under way to boost $100 million bilateral trade between Pakistan and Hungary: Ambassador Zoltán Varga
ISLAMABAD: The Embassy of Hungary in Pakistan celebrated its National Day as well as the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations with Pakistan at a local hotel in Islamabad on Tuesday.
The event, sponsored by Hungarian energy giant MOL, was attended by a large number of diplomats, government officials, business leaders, journalists, and members of civil society.
Minister of State for Finance and Railways Bilal Azhar Kayani, who was the chief guest, extended warm congratulations to the people of Hungary on their National Day. He said Pakistan and Hungary enjoyed over six decades of friendly relations, and both sides were now exploring new avenues to expand bilateral trade and economic cooperation.
Addressing the gathering, the newly appointed Hungarian Ambassador to Pakistan, Mr. Zoltán Varga, highlighted the historic depth of cultural and economic relations between the two countries. He said both nations were keen to strengthen their partnership by tapping into new opportunities for collaboration.
“The bilateral trade volume currently stands at over $100 million, and the trade balance is in Pakistan’s favor,” Ambassador Varga told The Public Tribune on the sidelines of the event. He said Pakistan enjoyed tariff relaxations under the European Union’s GSP Plus scheme, adding that Pakistani textile products had a strong presence in EU markets.
The ambassador expressed Hungary’s support for the extension of the GSP Plus status for Pakistan beyond 2027, emphasizing that Hungary viewed Pakistan as a “reliable and important partner.”
He said both countries were working to promote cooperation in areas such as education, agriculture, food security, medical sciences, water management, and energy, and noted that a growing number of Pakistani students were pursuing higher education in Hungarian universities under scholarship programs.
Earlier this year, during a high-level visit to Budapest, the Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of Hungary signed an agreement with Pakistan on mutual visa exemption for holders of diplomatic passports. Two Memorandums of Understanding were also inked to enhance cooperation in the fields of culture and archaeology.
The visit and the celebrations mark six decades of diplomatic relations between Pakistan and Hungary, a partnership that officials from both sides described as “steadily expanding and entering a new phase of mutually beneficial collaboration.”
Ambassador Varga concluded that Hungary was eager to see Pakistan strengthen its position as a key economic partner in South Asia, adding, “We are confident that the coming years will witness stronger trade and deeper people-to-people connections between our two countries.”
