ISLAMABAD, Nov 7: Hungary, a member of the Nuclear Suppliers Group, on Tuesday offered to initiate a dialogue with Pakistan on the issue of civilian nuclear technology “as a step towards trust-building”.

The offer was made by visiting Hungarian Foreign Minister Dr Kinga Goncz during her meeting with Foreign Minister Khurshid Kasuri.

At a joint press conference with Mr Kasuri later, the Hungarian foreign minister announced: “We proposed that we (should) hold consultations on this issue with our Vienna mission.”

Mr Kasuri welcomed the offer. “I am glad that we were able to discuss this at length and we have agreed to coordinate our efforts to cooperate in Vienna.”

The dialogue will be led by ambassadors of the two countries in Vienna where the International Atomic Energy Agency is headquartered.

Answering a question, Dr Goncz said Hungary favoured use of nuclear power for peaceful civilian purposes.