Hungary’s Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó announced on Thursday that his country and Pakistan have signed an agreement to lift the visa requirement for Pakistani diplomatic passports as he visited the country.
According to the Foreign Office (FO), Szijjártó is undertaking a one-day visit to Pakistan on the invitation of his counterpart Ishaq Dar. He is accompanied by a high-level business delegation to explore business opportunities in Pakistan.
Addressing a joint press conference in Islamabad with Dar, Szijjártó said: “We are happy that we were able to sign the agreement to the visa requirement for diplomatic passport-holders. We have done it because we want our relation to be even more intensified.”
The Hungarian minister stated that both sides believed in the importance of dialogue and that “mutual respect should be the basis of international politics”.
“We do believe that the judgment, lecturing each other, cornering and criticising each other, which became the basis of international politics in recent years, have led to serious problems of global politics,” he added.
Szijjártó arrived in Islamabad earlier today, where he was received by Additional Secretary Europe Muhammad Ayyub, the Hungarian ambassador and other senior officials, the FO said on X.
He then attended the Pakistan-Hungary Business forum in Islamabad, where expressed his country’s “strong desire to broaden cooperation with Pakistan across various sectors, including economy and trade”, state-run Radio Pakistan reported.
Szijjártó expressed the confidence that B2B meetings between the two sides today would prove successful, the report said. He also voiced support for Pakistan to remain a part of the Generalised System of Preferences Plus (GSP+) beyond 2027.
At the business forum, Commerce Minister Jam Kamal Khan expressed the confidence that B2B engagements would lead to meaningful partnerships and long-term ventures between both countries, Radio Pakistan said.
Kamal acknowledged the value of Hungary’s technological expertise, innovation and industrial capacity.
The FO, in a press release issued yesterday, said: “Deepening collaboration in economic, trade, energy and investment sectors is the focus of the two governments.
“Pakistan attaches high importance to bilateral relations with Hungary, which have gained strength due to regular high-level exchanges and commonality of views on regional and international issues,” it stated.
The FO noted that 2025 marks the 60th year of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries.
“An important hallmark of strong bilateral relations has been Hungarian oil and gas company MOL’s successful investment in Pakistan since 1999,” it highlighted.
More to follow
