ISLAMABAD: Hungary’s Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, Péter Szijjártó, arrived in Islamabad on Thursday with a high-level delegation to explore business opportunities in the country, Pakistan’s foreign office said.
Szijjártó is touring the country on Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar’s invitation, with the two officials scheduled to hold delegation-level talks after one-on-one discussions.
“Hungary’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Peter Szijjarto has arrived in Islamabad,” the foreign office said. “He was received at the airport by Muhammad Ayyub, Additional Secretary Europe, Ambassador of Hungary, and other senior officials.”
The foreign office said a day earlier the focus of the two governments was to deepen collaboration in the economic, trade, energy and investment sectors.
It also informed that a number of memoranda of understanding (MoUs) and an agreement on cooperation in the fields of culture (2025–2027), archaeology and cultural heritage, and the abolition of visas for holders of diplomatic passports will be signed between the two countries on the occasion.
“This would be FM Szijjártó’s second visit to Pakistan, aimed at lending positive impetus to enhanced bilateral cooperation and mutually rewarding economic partnership,” the statement said.
Pakistan enjoys cordial relations with Hungary, and this year Islamabad will mark 60 years since the establishment of diplomatic relations with the country.
The two countries enjoy cooperation in energy, with Hungarian oil and gas company MOL Group actively investing in Pakistan’s oil and gas exploration sector since the early 2000s.
MOL Pakistan has invested heavily in exploration and production, especially in Pakistan’s northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.
Pakistan has pursued agreements in trade, energy, tourism, livestock, mining and minerals, and other priority sectors with regional allies and Gulf countries in recent months. Islamabad hopes to attract foreign investment in its priority sectors to achieve sustainable growth.
Pakistan formed the Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC) in June 2023 to attract international investment in these sectors, mainly from Gulf countries. The SIFC says it aims to fast-track decisions related to investments.
Hungarian FM arrives in Islamabad with high-level delegation to explore business opportunities
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Hungarian FM arrives in Islamabad with high-level delegation to explore business opportunities
- Pakistan and Hungary are expected to sign agreements on culture, heritage and visas during the visit
- Pakistan says the two governments want enhanced economic, trade, energy and investment relations
Pakistan reports new polio case, taking 2025 tally to 31
- The virus infected a four-month-old girl in KP’s North Waziristan district
- Symptoms were detected in December last year, health authorities said
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has reported a new case of wild poliovirus in its northwest, taking the country’s total number of polio cases in 2025 to 31, health authorities said on Tuesday, highlighting the persistence of the disease in high-risk areas despite vaccination campaigns.
The latest infection was confirmed in a four-month-old girl from North Waziristan district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, according to the Regional Reference Laboratory for Polio Eradication at the National Institute of Health in Islamabad, which detected wild poliovirus type 1 (WPV1) in laboratory samples.
“The child had onset of symptoms in December, and subsequent samples collected from her were positive for WPV1, the lab reported this week,” said the statement. “Therefore, this is the 31st case of 2025.”
Last year, Pakistan reported 20 cases from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, nine from Sindh and one each from Punjab and Gilgit-Baltistan, according to health authorities. Southern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa accounted for more than half of Pakistan’s WPV1 cases in 2025, with 17 of the country’s 31 cases reported from the region.
“Ongoing security challenges have limited consistent access for polio teams in parts of southern KP, including North Waziristan, resulting in persistent immunity gaps and leaving children vulnerable to this paralytic disease,” the statement said.
It added that it was critical to ensure that every child is reached with the polio vaccine in every house-to-house campaign and has received full doses of routine immunization.
Polio is a highly contagious viral disease that can cause permanent paralysis, mainly in children under five.
Pakistan and neighboring Afghanistan are the only two countries in the world where the disease remains endemic.
