Pakistan, Singapore exchange felicitations on diamond jubilee of ties

Pakistan and Singapore have pledged to widen ties in trade, investment, digital affairs and climate action, according to Mettis Link News. The pledge came as the two countries marked 60 years of diplomatic relations, which began on August 17, 1966. Felicitation letters were exchanged between Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Singapore's Prime Minister Lawrence Wong on the occasion.

Messages were also swapped between Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar and Singapore's Foreign Minister Dr Vivian Balakrishnan. Dar said he wished to step up trade and investment links in fast-growing fields including fintech and climate, telling his counterpart that the anniversary could bring fresh momentum to ties. He also invited Balakrishnan to visit Islamabad. Balakrishnan, for his part, stressed close people-to-people ties and joint work in capacity building and culture.

Sharif said ties had grown steadily over six decades on mutual respect and goodwill, while Wong recalled that Pakistan had been one of the earliest nations to acknowledge Singapore once it became independent in 1965. Wong also saw scope for greater collaboration on trade facilitation, the digital economy and capacity building. The messages were reported by APP.