Vietnam, Singapore seek to recognize vaccine passport

Minh Vu

Nov 12, 2021 / 06:23 PM

The two countries stressed the importance of smooth mobility as Singapore is the biggest investor in Vietnam.

Vietnam and Singapore are working to recognize each other vaccine passports and resume flights as the latest effort to recover the economy of both.

Vietnam Airlines resumes flights after months. Photo: Khanh Huy/ The Hanoi Times

The request was made by Permanent Secretary of Singapore’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs Chee Wee Kiong and Deputy Minister of Vietnam’s Foreign Affairs (MoFA) Nguyen Quoc Dung at the 14^th Vietnam-Singapore Bilateral Consultations via videoconference earlier this week.

Both sides, through the joint working group on Covid-19 earlier this year, will conclude discussions on the mutual recognition of vaccine certificates to facilitate regularized essential business and official travel.

The move will allow the resumption of regular commercial return flights between the two countries.

They also agreed to share information on the development of vaccines and Covid drugs.

In another move, Singapore has eased restrictions on visitors from four ASEAN member states, including Vietnam. Accordingly, fully vaccinated Vietnamese nationals will undergo one-week home quarantine in the country of mythical Merlion.

Spokesperson Le Thi Thu Hang of Vietnam’s MoFA said Hanoi welcomed the move, appreciating Singapore’s lowering Travel Health Notice for Covid-19 on Vietnam to Level 2 from Level 3.

Relieving concerns about travel is aimed at facilitating trade and mobility of people of both countries, Hang told media on November 11.

Regarding the vaccine passport, Hang said Vietnam has worked with more than 80 countries and territories, including Singapore to mutually recognize the certificates. It’s part of efforts to resume scheduled international commercial flights.

Resuming flights between Vietnam and Singapore has been included in the mutual efforts over the past year to facilitate the investment flows into Vietnam in which Singapore is the biggest investor.

The two sides have held high-ranking meetings and talks when they discussed measures to keep investment and trade smooth.

The two sides have maintained regular high-level engagements, including the meeting between Vietnam’s Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and Singapore PM Lee Hsien Loong in April 2021, the visit paid to Vietnam in June 2021 by Singaporean Minister for Foreign Affairs Vivian Balakrishnan.

In March 2021, at a phone talk between Lee Hsien Loong and then PM Nguyen Xuan Phuc, keeping markets open and supply chains connected were the main discussions.

They agreed that relaxed restrictions and continued efforts would strengthen the enforcement of trade agreements like the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), benefiting both nations.