Foreign Minister Makhdoom Shah Mahmood Qureshi held a telephone conversation with the Foreign Minister of Singapore, Dr. Vivian Balakrishnan today, to discuss the situation arising out of the Covid-19 Pandemic and ways to address the situation.

Commending Singapore’s deft handling of the public health crisis, Foreign Minister Qureshi stated that timely measures had helped in containing the spread of the virus, and that Pakistan looked forward to learning from Singapore’s experience in the field of epidemiology. While briefing his Singaporean counterpart of the steps taken by Pakistan to combat the disease, the Foreign Minister also evinced interest in the Application, ‘Trace Together’, in Pakistan to break the chain of transmission.

The Foreign Minister thanked the Singapore government for facilitating the return of Pakistani nationals from Singapore. The Singapore Foreign Minister also appreciated Pakistan’s support in the repatriation of Singaporean nationals from Pakistan.

Foreign Minister Qureshi highlighted Prime Minister Imran Khan’s call for debt relief and restructuring to help developing countries create the fiscal space needed to combat the disease, save precious human lives and shore up economies.

The Foreign Minister thanked Dr. Balakrishnan for his standing invitation, and stated that he looked forward to visiting Singapore, at a mutually convenient time, once the crisis was resolved.

The two Foreign Ministers agreed to stay engaged on Covid-19 and other matters of mutual interest.

Islamabad
8 April 2020
154/2020