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SINGAPORE: Singapore and Japan will launch a “reciprocal green lane” to facilitate essential trade and official travel between the two countries on September 18, their foreign ministers said on Friday (September 11) in a joint press release issued by the Ministry of Foreign Relations. (MFA).
“The commercial pathway, which will launch on September 18, 2020, will facilitate essential commercial and official travel for residents of both countries,” the statement said.
This is the first framework of its kind that Japan will implement with another country and will help restore connectivity and support the economic recovery of Japan and Singapore, MFA said.
“The commercial route will allow the safe resumption of cross-border travel and commercial exchanges with the necessary safeguards for public health,” he added.
These safeguards include pre-departure and post-arrival testing, as well as the need to adhere to a controlled itinerary for the first 14 days in the host country.
Operational details, including requirements, health protocols, and application process, will be posted on the SafeTravel website and the website of the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs before September 18.
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The announcement followed Japan’s Foreign Minister Motegi Toshimitsu’s official visit to Singapore last month, where he visited and was invited to lunch by his Singaporean counterpart, Dr. Vivian Balakrishnan, and paid a courtesy visit to the Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong in Istana.
The ministers, in a joint statement issued by MFA, said they agreed on the “main points” of the Business Track (Reciprocal Green Lane) for short-term business travelers.
They also welcomed the ongoing negotiations on the establishment of a special “residence path” in early September that will provide “a special cross-border travel quota for executives and business professionals (job pass holders)” with the guarantees of necessary public health services in place, including a 14-day stay-at-home notice upon arrival in the respective countries.
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Singapore currently has cross-border travel agreements with China, Malaysia, Brunei, and South Korea.
On Thursday, Singapore’s Consulate General in Hong Kong said it welcomed discussions with Hong Kong on the gradual resumption of travel between the two sides.
Singapore has also said it will streamline ongoing discussions for green lane travel arrangements with Thailand, and start similar discussions with Indonesia.
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