Pakistan, Hungry sign MoU

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and Hungry have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on cooperation in water management and an amended convention for avoiding double taxation, which shows the two countries commitment to each other, a statement said on Monday.

The Embassy of Hungry in a statement said the purpose of this MoU was to establish a framework for co-operation between the parties in the field of water management on the basis of equality, reciprocity and mutual benefit.

“The aim of the Protocol amending the Tax Convention is to improve the bilateral exchange mechanism of information in accordance with international standards,” it added. The Hungarian Embassy said it hoped that the next step in this forward-looking process could be the signature of the Agreement for Promotion and Reciprocal Protection of Investments.

The investment protection treaty would have utmost importance for MOL Pakistan, the Pakistani subsidiary of the Hungarian MOL Group, which has been operating in Pakistan for twenty years.

The company employs 400 Pakistanis, provides 14 percent of the country’s electricity need and it is among the 50 largest taxpayers in Pakistan. Since MOL Pakistan was founded in 1999, it has proved its commitment to the people of Pakistan: the company has invested 12,9 million USD for the development of the Pakistani society through its different corporate social responsibility programmes.

The Embassy of Hungary in Islamabad has been working on strengthening economic and commercial ties with Pakistan for years. As the first result of these efforts, the two countries signed an Economic Cooperation Agreement in 2017, which laid down the framework of the further cooperation.

Based on that, organising the first session of Joint Economic Commission in the Hungarian capital, Budapest, between 12-13 September 2019 was another milestone of the deepening relations.

In cooperation with the Pakistani Ministry of Commerce, the Trade Development Authority of Pakistan and All Pakistan Business Forum, the Hungarian Embassy was organising a bilateral Business Forum in Lahore, where numerous Hungarian and Pakistani companies signalled their willingness to participate but it had to be postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic.