KARACHI: Pakistan is in the process of signing a bilateral investment treaty with Hungary and the first round of negotiations were held in Islamabad, Minister of State and Chairman Board of Investment (BoI) Muhammad Azfar Ahsan said on Wednesday.

Speaking at the foundation of AcquaHatch International Private Limited, a Pak-Hungarian joint venture (JV), the BoI chief said ties between the two countries would further strengthen as the fishery project has a foreign and local investment of $14 million to develop a freshwater ecosystem in Pakistan.

Mr Ahsan said he was confident that the JV between the two countries would flourish and generate employment opportunities soon. Sharing details, the minister said Pakistan received foreign direct investment worth $42.5m in 2020 and $21.2m in 2021 from Hungary.

“Despite various challenges, especially in the situation arising out of Covid-19, the government is making all-out efforts to put the economy on track with long-term and sustainable economic progress. The improvement in various economic indicators is proof of these efforts,” he added.

CEO Aqua Hatch Muhammad Faisal Iftikhar said that existing hatcheries are unable to fulfil the nation’s requirement currently.

Published in Dawn, February 24th, 2022