Singapore foreign minister Vivian Balakrishnan in Islamabad on 30 October: talks with Dar, NDMA disaster pact

Singapore's foreign minister, Dr Vivian Balakrishnan, makes an official visit to Pakistan on Friday 30 October at the invitation of Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, the Foreign Office announced on Thursday, as reported by Business Recorder and Dawn.

What is on the agenda

• Talks with Ishaq Dar in Islamabad on bilateral relations and regional and global developments.
• Calls on Pakistan's leadership during the day.
• A disaster management agreement: a memorandum of understanding between Pakistan's National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) and the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) is to be exchanged.

The Foreign Office described relations as cordial and rooted in mutual respect and long friendship.

Why the timing matters

The visit marks the 60th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two countries. It also comes just before Singapore takes the chair of ASEAN in 2027, which makes it the host and agenda-setter for the bloc of ten South-East Asian economies for a year. Pakistan is a sectoral dialogue partner of ASEAN and has long sought full dialogue partnership, which needs the support of member states; a friendly chair helps.

The disaster pact

Of the day's outcomes, the NDMA and SCDF agreement is the one with the clearest practical value. Singapore's civil defence force runs urban search and rescue teams that deploy to earthquakes abroad, and Pakistan's NDMA handles floods, heatwaves and earthquakes that hit millions here every few years. Cooperation of this kind typically covers training, sharing early-warning know-how and joint exercises; the text of this MoU has not been published.

What it means for Pakistanis

Singapore is a regional hub for finance, shipping and technology jobs, and a transit point for flights east. Closer ties do not change visa rules on their own; Pakistani passport holders still need a visa to enter Singapore. Anyone planning to travel can work out what a new passport costs with our passport fee calculator.

We will update this story with the outcome of the Dar-Balakrishnan talks once the Foreign Office issues its statement on Friday.