Pakistan and Singapore have pledged to deepen their bilateral partnership and broaden economic engagement, as the two countries mark 60 years of diplomatic relations.

Singaporean Foreign Minister Dr Vivian Balakrishnan held a series of meetings with Pakistan's leadership in Islamabad on Friday 30 October, including talks with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif at the Prime Minister House and a call on Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir, Chief of Defence Forces and Chief of Army Staff.

Trade, technology and small business on the agenda

At the meeting with Mr Sharif, the two sides explored ways to boost trade and investment and expand cooperation in the digital economy, financial technology, infrastructure, logistics, small and medium-sized enterprises and the services sector, The News reported.

Singapore's foreign ministry said Mr Sharif and Dr Balakrishnan reaffirmed the longstanding friendship between the two countries and welcomed the 60th anniversary of diplomatic relations as a timely opportunity to deepen ties. They also exchanged views on the evolving regional security landscape.

Disaster-management deal exchanged

During the visit, the ministers exchanged a memorandum of understanding on cooperation in disaster management between the Singapore Civil Defence Force and Pakistan's National Disaster Management Authority, aimed at strengthening cooperation in disaster preparedness and response.

Dr Balakrishnan was also hosted to lunch by Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, and visited the National Center of Artificial Intelligence at the National University of Sciences and Technology. Reports of the visit described it as the first official trip by a Singaporean foreign minister to Pakistan in more than two decades, and noted that Mr Sharif had accepted in principle an invitation from Singapore's prime minister to visit Singapore.