Singapore foreign minister arrives in Islamabad for talks with Dar
The visit marks 60 years of Pakistan-Singapore diplomatic ties, precedes Singapore's 2027 ASEAN chairmanship and will see a disaster management MoU exchanged.
Singapore's Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan arrived in Islamabad on Friday on an official visit at the invitation of Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, the Foreign Office said.
Balakrishnan was received at the airport by the Foreign Office's Director General for East Asia Pacific. According to the Foreign Office, he will hold comprehensive talks with Dar on cooperation in the bilateral and multilateral domains, and is scheduled to call on Pakistan's leadership during his stay.
Minute Mirror reported that the discussions are expected to cover a wide range of bilateral and multilateral issues, and that the two foreign ministers will also exchange views on regional and global developments. It quoted the Foreign Office describing the visit as an opportunity to strengthen the longstanding friendship between the two countries and to explore new avenues for cooperation.
The visit coincides with the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Pakistan and Singapore, and comes ahead of Singapore's assumption of the chairmanship of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations in 2027. Both points were carried in the reports by Business Recorder and Daily Times.
A memorandum of understanding on disaster management cooperation is also to be exchanged between Pakistan's National Disaster Management Authority and Singapore's Civil Defence Force. Business Recorder reported that the proposed agreement is intended to give the two institutions a framework for cooperation in disaster preparedness and response.
Minute Mirror described the two countries as maintaining cordial relations built on mutual respect, and said the engagement reflects a shared interest in widening the partnership beyond traditional areas of cooperation.
Neither the Foreign Office nor the reports released a detailed schedule of the talks, or named which members of Pakistan's leadership Balakrishnan will meet.
Singapore's foreign ministry has not issued a separate statement carried in the Pakistani reports on the visit.
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