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Govt revises travel ban amid corridor talks with Singapore
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he Law and Human Rights Ministry is revising its temporary ban on foreigners entering Indonesia as the government enters discussion with Singapore to form a travel corridor arrangement between the two countries for essential business.
Minister Yasonna Laoly said the ministry was finalizing a revision to a ministerial regulation about temporary prohibition of foreigners entering Indonesia amid the COVID-19 outbreak, which had been effective since April 3.
“We will finish the revision soon, so there won’t be any issue hindering TCA implementation,” Yasonna said in a statement on Thursday.
He requested that authorities prepare sufficient health infrastructure for passenger coronavirus screenings at airports and seaports, especially in Jakarta as well as Batam, Riau Islands, which directly borders Singapore.
The ministry’s Immigration Directorate General will prepare an electronic visa service for the essential travelers looking to visit the country. The visa service is expected to be available starting Oct. 15.
Yasonna claimed the arrangement would make way for economic recovery because it would allow easier mobility for businesspeople, investors and state officials.
The discussion for the arrangement is still ongoing, as Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno LP Marsudi met with her Singaporean counterpart Vivian Balakrishnan in August.
Indonesia has continued to push for the establishment of an ASEAN travel corridor at the region’s premier foreign policy meeting, despite having been slapped with travel bans by other countries fearing the possibility of imported cases from the archipelago.
At the ASEAN Ministerial Meeting on Sept. 9, the first time the annual meeting was held completely by video-conference, Foreign Minister Retno reiterated the need for a travel corridor arrangement, saying it would not only help in the global economic recovery but also signal ASEAN unity in responding to the pandemic.
Retno acknowledged that it was not the right time to discuss the possibility of reopening tourism, but insisted it was still important to discuss the establishment of a special corridor for essential business travelers.
The idea of a travel corridor for ASEAN was first tabled by President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo in late June. The President has since bagged deals with China, South Korea and the United Arab Emirates for an arrangement to allow the movement of people for essential business purposes.
Several ASEAN counterparts backed the idea, believing the proposal would be a good start for addressing economic challenges in the region that have emerged from the COVID-19 outbreak.
The economic fallout from the lockdown and restriction measures caused by the COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated the underlying challenges that countries in the region already faced, including deepening inequality, shortfalls in governance and weak health systems. The continued rise of infections in some countries has also led to others taking precautions such as closing off borders.
