President Pervez Musharraf and visiting Singaporean Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong on Tuesday agreed to boost trade and economic co-operation, officials said.
President Musharraf welcomed Goh's offer to start negotiations for a free trade agreement (FTA) between Pakistan and Singapore, they said. Singapore is scheduled to initiate discussions on a FTA with Pakistan later this year.
Musharraf also expressed his country's desire to boost economic and trade ties with the Association of South East Asian Nations (Asean).
Goh informed President Musharraf that Singapore would support Pakistan's efforts to integrate closely with the Asean processes, they said.
The Singaporean leader stated that as this interaction proceeds he envisaged that Pakistan would enjoy summit-level dialogue status with Asean in the coming years.
President Musharraf thanked the visiting leader for Singapore's expression of support for Pakistan's efforts and said that Pakistan is for enhancing its economic and trade ties with Asean countries.
The two leaders held a one-on-one meeting, exchanging views on a host of topics before their aides joined the talks covering regional and international issues including efforts to combat terrorism, an official statement said.
Musharraf, whose country is a key ally in the US-led war on terrorism, explained the "importance of combating terrorism at the international level as well as the settlement of long-standing political disputes including the Palestinian and Kashmir issues," it said.
The two leaders also discussed the regional situation with a particular focus on the situation in East Asia as well as South Asia, it said.
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