Singapore Will Implement Bilateral Vaccination Travel Route, Foreign Minister Retno Says It Is Based On Trust In Indonesia

JAKARTA - Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi discussed the details of implementing a vaccinated travel lane (VTL) or a bilateral Vaccination Travel Lane that will be launched by Singapore.

During a working visit to Singapore's Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan in Singapore, Tuesday, November 16, the two countries' safe travel arrangements are part of efforts to strengthen bilateral cooperation between the two countries.

Foreign Minister Retno and Foreign Minister Balakrishnan agreed to continue discussions on VTL arrangements bilaterally (reciprocally). The two Foreign Ministers also discussed the details of the implementation of unilateral VTL granted by Singapore to travelers from Indonesia on a point-to-point basis, namely from Jakarta to Singapore.

"The Singapore Foreign Minister conveyed that Singapore's unilateral VTL implementation was based on, among other things, trust in the system (trust), the continued improvement in the COVID-19 situation in Indonesia, and the increasing vaccination rate," said Foreign Minister Retno in a written statement from the Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, November 16.

In the same statement, Foreign Minister Retno also conveyed information from the Foreign Minister of Singapore, in order to continue to maintain health, the implementation of unilateral VTL Singapore will use certain flights (assigned flights).

In addition, the two parties will also continue to discuss the creation of a safe bubble, especially for the Bintan destination (from Singapore) by ferry.

Meanwhile, the Singapore Minister of Transport said in a statement that Indonesia and Singapore are close neighbors who have good economic and social relations. people-to-people.

Previously, the Singapore Ministry of Health had updated Indonesia's health status to Category II since 12 November 2021.

With VTL, travelers from Indonesia who have been vaccinated can enter Singapore by showing a negative PCR result, performing a COVID-19 test when arrival without quarantine.

Quota for VTL is 10,000 per day for arrivals from all countries receiving VTL. Travelers must still ask for an entry permit from the Singapore government before visiting.

For information, visitors who are Indonesian citizens can start submitting applications for entry permits on November 22, 2021.

During the meeting, the two Foreign Ministers also discussed the plan to organize a Leaders' Retreat between President Jokowi and Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. The two Foreign Ministers agreed to prepare concrete and beneficial results of the meeting for the two countries.

As previously reported, Singapore will expand its vaccinated travel route (VTL) scheme to more countries from November 29, the Ministry of Health (MOH) said Monday.

The Lion Country is known to intend to launch VTL with India and Indonesia from 29 November, next with Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) from 6 December.

Speaking at a press conference of the multi-ministerial COVID-19 task force on Monday, Transport Minister S Iswaran said Singapore and India had discussed mutual recognition of vaccination certificates.

"This means that travelers from Singapore who have been fully vaccinated entering India no longer need to undergo post-arrival test home quarantine, they only need to self-monitor for 14 days after arrival," Iswaran said, citing CNA November 15.