Pakistan High Commission for Singapore organized a virtual National Day ceremony today to mark the 81st National Day of Pakistan.
The ceremony commenced with recitation from the Holy Quran, followed by National Anthems of Singapore and Pakistan. Addressing the virtual ceremony, Ms. Rukhsana Afzaal, High Commissioner, highlighted the High Commission’s activities and achievements in promoting a comprehensive trade and economic partnership with Singapore. Thanking Singapore Business Federation for its overwhelming support to the High Commission’s endeavors, she welcomed Singaporean investments in Pakistan’s housing and construction, agro-food, logistics, SMEs and digital economy. She also encouraged Singaporean companies to invest in China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), already in its second phase of development. She lauded Temasek Foundation’s support to the Government of Pakistan in combating COVID-19 last year. Mentioning about significance of Pak-Singapore MoU for cooperation between National Vocational and Technical Training Commission (NAVTTC) of Pakistan and Institute of Technical Education and Education Services (ITE-ES), Singapore, last year, she expressed the hope that the Memorandum will help fill the skill gap of Pakistani workforce. She also expressed satisfaction over signing of a MoU between the newly formed Pakistan FinTech Association and Singapore FinTech Association late last year, adding that it will connect Pakistan’s young entrepreneurs and startups with global FinTech eco system.
Minister of State for Education and Manpower of Singapore, H.E Ms. Gan Siow Huang, who was the Guest of Honour at the ceremony, felicitated the High Commission and Pakistani diaspora on the auspicious occasion. Appreciating economic recovery of Pakistan, she highlighted the importance of MoU signed between NAVTTC, Pakistan and ITE-ES, Singapore. She also appreciated Pakistan High Commission’s support and encouragement of Pakistani startups to participate in the annual Singapore Fintech Festival.
A documentary on the historic Walled City of Lahore and a painting exhibition by the renowned Pakistani artist Ms. Erum Ashfaq were shown to showcase cultural richness of Pakistan.
The highlight of the event was interviews of prominent members of Pakistani community who migrated to Singapore immediately after its birth and became pioneers of several key industries and services, such as shipping, aviation, IT and software, engineering, infrastructure development, police service and accounting. These Pakistani Singaporeans are a common asset of the two countries.
The virtual ceremony, first by the High Commission in Singapore, created a great impact and was joined online by senior officials of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Trade and Industry, Singapore Business Federation and Pakistani diaspora.
March 23, 2021
Singapore