Singapore, Pakistan agree to widen trade and disaster cooperation

Singapore's Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan met Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar in Islamabad on Friday, with the two governments agreeing to expand trade, reopen Pakistan's trade office in Singapore and work together on disaster response.

A memorandum of understanding was exchanged between the Singapore Civil Defence Force and Pakistan's National Disaster Management Authority at the joint press stakeout Balakrishnan held with Dar. Balakrishnan said the agreement covers early warning systems, search and rescue capability, sharing of best practices and joint training. "Disasters do not respect boundaries, do not have passports," he said.

On the Gulf, Balakrishnan said Pakistan was playing "a unique but very constructive and valuable role", noting that most energy shipped through the Gulf goes to South Asia, Southeast Asia and Northeast Asia. "If you succeed, it's good for all of us," he said. The Express Tribune reported that Pakistan has mediated between the United States and Iran, and that an interim peace agreement signed in June had faltered amid renewed fighting between Tehran and Washington.

Balakrishnan said both countries treat international law as critical and cited the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea on freedom of navigation and overflight in straits used for international shipping, which he called "a right and not by the grace of littoral powers". Dar said the talks covered the impact of regional tensions on maritime trade and described secure sea routes and uninterrupted supply chains as essential to economic stability.

Dar said he expressed concern at the continued expansion of illegal settlements and efforts to alter the status of the West Bank and Al-Quds Al-Sharif, called for unhindered delivery of humanitarian assistance to Gaza, and restated support for an independent Palestinian state on pre-June 1967 borders with Al-Quds Al-Sharif as its capital. He said he briefed Balakrishnan on a just and peaceful settlement of the Jammu and Kashmir dispute in line with UN Security Council resolutions.

In Rawalpindi, Balakrishnan called on Chief of Defence Forces and Chief of Army Staff Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir at General Headquarters, according to an Inter-Services Public Relations statement. It said the meeting covered matters of mutual interest, evolving regional and global security dynamics and ways to enhance bilateral cooperation, and that both sides exchanged views on regional peace and stability.

On trade, Balakrishnan said diplomatic ties were excellent but the numbers "ought to be much higher", and called for business delegations, links between small and medium enterprises and cooperation on carbon markets. Dar said the Pakistan Trade and Investment Office at the high commission in Singapore would reopen, and that the two sides discussed closer engagement between chambers of commerce, the possible resumption of direct flights and cooperation in education, research, digital technologies, artificial intelligence, agriculture and climate.

Balakrishnan said the visit marks 60 years of diplomatic ties, and that Singapore, which takes the ASEAN chair next year, would look for ways for Pakistan to do more with the bloc. Pakistan currently chairs the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit. Prime Minister Shehbaz, in his meeting with Balakrishnan, discussed raising bilateral trade and investment and cooperation in priority areas including the digital economy, fintech, infrastructure development and logistics, the Express Tribune reported.