Singapore & Malaysia to resume business travel next month

Malaysia and Singapore are expected to reopen essential business and official travel between their countries. People will be allowed to cross their border for the first time since most movements were suspended because of the coronavirus in March.

The neighbors are also putting in place travel arrangements for their residents who hold long-term immigration passes for business and work in the other country, the foreign ministries said in a joint statement on Tuesday.

They hope to launch the exchanges on August 10, and it had also been agreed to develop other schemes for cross-border movements, including for daily commutes by workers, Reuters reports.

Before the border was closed to people to stop the spread of the novel coronavirus, tens of thousands of Malaysians commuted daily to wealthy Singapore to work. Malaysia is also a major source of staples for Singapore, which imports more than 90 percent of its food supplies.