Hungarian envoy for creating trilateral trade bloc including Turkey

LAHORE: The All Pakistan Business Forum (APBF) has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Hungarian Export Promotion Agency (HEPA) to promote trade links through exchanges of business delegations to nurture closer understanding between Pakistan and Hungary.

APBF President Syed Maaz Mahmood inked the memorandum on behalf of his association while HEPA CEO Balázs Hendrich represented his agency. Hungarian embassy officials consisting of Ambassador István Szabó, Deputy Head of Mission Tivadar Takács and Dr István Grafjódi and APBF office-bearers were also present on the occasion. Both the sides agreed to boost bilateral trade and investment through proactive approach and improved engagement.

Speaking on the occasion, Ambassador of Hungary István Szabó called for creating a trilateral trade bloc of Pakistan, Hungary and Turkey with a view to eliminate barriers to investment among those nations, besides exploiting huge trade potential. He appreciated the efforts of APBF to promote bilateral trade and joint ventures between business community of Pakistan and Hungary. The serious and result-oriented work of APBF convinced him to get HEPA engaged with APBF to bring the business communities of the two countries closer, he said.

He said Hungarian Embassy has been working on strengthening economic ties with Pakistan and the two countries also signed an Economic Cooperation Agreement in 2017 which laid down the framework of the further cooperation. Based on that, organizing the first session of Joint Economic Commission in the Hungary in Sept 2019 was another milestone of the deepening relations.

He said Hungarian Embassy in cooperation with the Pakistan Ministry of Commerce and All Pakistan Business Forum was going to organise a bilateral business forum in Lahore but it was postponed due to coronavirus. "Today is another significant event of the economic relations, which shows the two countries commitment to each other.

The purpose of the protocol amending the tax convention is to improve the bilateral exchange mechanism of information in accordance with international standards."

The Hungarian Embassy hoped the next step could be the signature of the agreement for promotion and reciprocal protection of investments.

The Ambassador said the treaty would have utmost importance for the Pakistani subsidiary of the Hungarian MOL Group, which employed 400 Pakistanis, provided 14 percent of the country's electricity need and it was among the 50 largest taxpayers in Pakistan. Since MOL Pakistan was founded in 1999, it has proved its commitment to the people of Pakistan through various welfare activities. As the Hungarian government is convinced that the best investment is education, it offers yearly 200 scholarships for Pakistani students, which shows Hungary long-term commitment to Pakistan, he said.

The APBF President said the Forum would extend full cooperation and support to strengthen trade and economic ties between Pakistan and Hungary. The Forum through the Hungarian Embassy will arrange B2B meetings, conducting business delegation visits for sector specific match-making and interaction between development initiatives and the stakeholders.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2020