China, Singapore Agree To Fast Track Resumption Of Business, Official Travel

MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 30th May, 2020) The governments of China and Singapore have agreed to a so-called "fast lane" arrangement to resume essential business and official trips between one another's territories beginning in early June, the foreign ministries of the two countries said in a joint statement on Friday.

The statement was released following the second China-Singapore Joint Meeting on COVID-19, held via video-conference on Thursday. It was attended by Permanent Secretary Chee Wee Kiong of the Singaporean Foreign Ministry and Chinese Deputy Foreign Minister Luo Zhaohui, as well as representatives from both sides covering education, trade and industry, customs, immigration, transport and health.

"Both sides agreed to, with effective COVID-19 prevention and control measures in place, launch the Fast Lane arrangement in early June 2020 to facilitate essential travel for business and official purposes between the two countries," the statement read, as published on the website of the Singaporean Foreign Ministry.

According to the statement, the arrangement will be initially applied to travel between Singapore and six Chinese provinces � including Shanghai, Tianjin, Chongqing, Guangdong, Jiangsu and Zhejiang � and eventually expanded upon all provinces and municipalities of China.