Envoys mark Visegrad Group’s 30th anniversary

Islamabad:Diplomats from Central Europe gathered here on Monday to highlight the 30th anniversary of the Visegrad Group, an informal body of political and economic cooperation in the region.

Addressing a joint news conference, Polish Ambassador Piotr Opalinski, Hungarian Ambassador Bela Fazekas, and Deputy Head of Mission of Czech Embassy Antonin Hradelik said in February 1991, the presidents of Poland and the Czech Republic, and the prime minister of Hungary signed the Declaration on Cooperation to strive for European integration in the castle of Visegrad, Hungary.

According to them, the declaration provided a political framework for extensive cooperation between Poland, Czechoslovakia, and Hungary, and brought closer the societies of the three, and later four, countries.

They said the original aim of cooperation was the striving for the full recovery of the states’ independence, democracy, and liberty, eradication of symptoms of totalitarian regimes, construction of parliamentary democracy, respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms, the establishment of a free-market economy, comprehensive participation in the European political and economic system, as well as the security and legislative system.

"The accession of our countries to the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation and later joining the European Union symbolically closed this first stage and opened new perspectives for the Visegrad cooperation," the Polish ambassador said.

He said besides friendship and good neighbourly cooperation, the Visegrad Group countries were also united by the awareness of common social and economic challenges, understanding the value of regional solidarity, and the willingness to realise common goals of both European and foreign policy.

"From a 30-year perspective, the Visegrad Group became not only one of the symbols of the new united Europe and a successful political and economic transformation of the countries of the region but also an example of the effective format of regional cooperation within the European Union which contributes to the shaping of European policies and enhancing its economic competitiveness."

The ambassador, however, said V4 was not only about a political cooperation. "One of the emblematic institutions of our cooperation is the International Visegrad Fund which, since its establishment in 2000, has granted nearly 2400 scholarships and supported almost 6000 projects by NGOs, local governments, scientists and artists, mainly across our four countries, but also in the Eastern Partnership and Western Balkan states."

The envoy said the coronavirus pandemic had slowed down cooperation between the V4 countries but whenever the situation improved, visa applications would be processed. He said after the COVID-19 pandemic was over, Pakistani businessmen and students would be welcomed to those four countries.

The Hungarian envoy shed light on the role of his country in the alliance and said Hungary had offered 200 scholarships to Pakistani students. He said for these 200 scholarships, over 9,000 students appeared in a test showing their keen interest in the scholarship programme.