ISLAMABAD, April 30 (Xinhua) -- Pakistan and Hungary on Friday agreed to deepen bilateral relations and economic cooperation in diverse fields during delegation-level talks here, local media reported.
The Pakistani delegation was led by Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi while the Hungarian delegation was headed by Minister of Foreign affairs and Trade Peter Szijjarto.
In his remarks, Qureshi expressed confidence that the visit of his Hungarian counterpart accompanied by a business delegation will mark a new era in the bilateral economic relationship between the two countries.
There are vast opportunities for enhancing bilateral cooperation in different areas including agriculture, water resource management, energy, information technology, food and tourism, he said.
"Pakistan is a huge market for the Hungarian companies to expand their businesses," the Pakistani foreign minister said, hoping that the business community of both countries would engage profitably with each other to bolster the bilateral trade.
"Promoting high-level contacts between the two countries could increase bilateral trade volume," the minister said.
While highlighting the incumbent government's business-friendly policies, Qureshi invited Hungary to capitalize on Pakistan's liberalized investment and visa policies for foreigners.
He said nine special economic zones are in different stages of development under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor and are open for investments including for the Hungarian companies.
The foreign minister said economic diplomacy is a major component of Pakistan's foreign policy. "According to the vision of Prime Minister Imran Khan, we are turning our geopolitical priorities into geo-economic priorities."
On the same occasion, Szijjarto expressed willingness to upgrade the economic partnership with Pakistan.
Hungary attaches special importance to this region because of cultural and historical similarities as well as security reasons, he said, adding that his country values and respects the contributions that Pakistan has been making to ensure security and stability of the region. Enditem