Strengthening Collaborative Opportunities Between Singapore And Pakistan

• Published date: 06 January 2023
• Subject Matter: Litigation, Mediation & Arbitration, Arbitration & Dispute Resolution
• Law Firm: Rajah & Tann
• Author: Mr Vikna Rajah, Matthew Koh and Rashid Sultan

Introduction

Singapore and Pakistan affirmed their longstanding and friendly relations during Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan Bilawal Bhutto Zardari's official visit to Singapore on 9 December 2022. The Pakistan Minister of Foreign Affairs met with Singapore's President Halimah Yacob, and had a breakfast meeting with Singapore's Minister for Foreign Affairs Dr Vivian Balakrishnan.

Apart from cementing friendly bilateral relations, Singapore and Pakistan will also explore strengthening closer collaborative ties and business opportunities between the two countries.

This Update highlights certain key areas of collaborative opportunities between Singapore and Pakistan as highlighted in the recent visit by the Pakistan's Minister of Foreign Affairs, and provides a brief overview of the Pakistan legal system for businesses interested in engaging in business activities in the country

Key Areas of Potential Collaboration

Singapore and Pakistan will look at increasing and/or enhancing cooperation in several key areas.

• Food and agricultural: Having reviewed the growth in trade between the two countries, the Ministers from both countries indicated that they "looked forward" to increasing exports in food and agricultural products.
• Digital: Singapore and Pakistan agreed to cooperate more closely in various areas, including trade facilitation, digital economy and digital finance. Pakistan is reported to have a growing e-commerce market in recent years.
• Human resource: Singapore and Pakistan will also work on enhancing people-to-people exchanges and Singapore will extend its support in capacity building under the Singapore Cooperation Programme ("SCP"). The SCP was established in 1992 and provides technical assistance programmes to help other developing countries build and develop their human resource. You may read more about the SCP here.

Brief Overview of Pakistan's Legal System

The legal system in Pakistan is derived from English common law. Many substantive and procedural statutes date back to the pre-independence era. Pakistan is an Islamic country with a federal system of government. The Constitution of Pakistan, 1973 mandates that no law shall be enacted and enforced if it is against the injunctions of Islam.

Dispute Resolution

Court System

The Supreme Court and the High Courts in each of the four provinces and the Islamabad Capital Territory ("ICT") are established under the Constitution of Pakistan, 1973 and exercise...