SINGAPORE, May 5: Singapore and Pakistan on Friday completed a third round of negotiations for a free trade agreement (FTA), the city-state’s trade ministry said.

“Both sides had fruitful discussions and made further progress on the key issues tabled during the third round in the chapters on trade in goods, rules of origin, trade in services, investment, government procurement, customs and the legal elements of the FTA,” it said in a statement.

The next round of negotiations is scheduled in Pakistan by July next.

Singapore is a pioneer in forging free trade pacts, having signed such accords with the United States, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, Jordan and India among others.

Free trade negotiations are ongoing with countries such as Bahrain, Canada, Egypt, Mexico and Sri Lanka.—AFP