Vivian Balakrishnan to visit Islamabad on Oct 30 to explore new areas of cooperation
Minister for Foreign Affairs Dr Vivian Balakrishnan will make a one-day visit to Islamabad, Pakistan on Friday (Oct 30).The visit comes on the back of a two-day visit to Jakarta, Indonesia, where he and Indonesian Foreign Minister Arrmanatha Nasir announced that the two countries are looking into establishing a joint task force to hold companies accountable for forest fires which have caused transboundary haze.Singapore's Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) said in a statement on Wednesday (Oct 28) that Dr Balakrishnan's visit to Islamabad is at the invitation of Pakistan Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar."Minister Balakrishnan’s visit to Pakistan reaffirms the longstanding friendship between Singapore and Pakistan, which is underpinned by mutual respect and warm people-to-people ties," the ministry added. The two countries mark their 60th anniversary of diplomatic relations this year.