DAMMAM: Singapore is providing special access cards (SACs) for visitors from Saudi Arabia, Lee Yi Shyan, Singaporean minister of state for trade and industry, announced at a recent meeting with a group of leading businessmen at the Asharqia Chamber.
Responding to a query that Saudi businessmen often are embarrassed at the Singapore airport, the minister said the cards should ease access for Saudi visitors to Singapore. These cards are only available to those who already have five-year, multiple-entry visas for Singapore. Cardholders need only to swipe their cards at immigration to enter Singapore, he said.
Saudi businesspeople increasingly have complained of difficulties upon arrival at Singapore airport. Until recently, Saudis were granted visas on arrival in Singapore; now they have to apply to the Singapore missions in Riyadh and Jeddah.
“Obviously we have to work with the Singapore government to make things easier for businesspeople here,” said Jassem Al-Badr, a Riyadh-based businessman whose company has business interests in Singapore.
“The special access cards of which the Singapore minister spoke will go a long way in making things smoother for Saudi businessmen. It is a step in the right direction,” said Al-Badr.
Lee noted that Saudi Arabia and Singapore enjoy very good trade relations, and these relations should further improve following the Preferential Trade Agreement signed between Singapore and the GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) last December that is awaiting final ratification.
The Singaporean minister, who was leading a high-level trade mission, said bilateral trade between the two countries had increased significantly in recent years. In 2008, the two-way trade rose to more than SR55 billion, as compared to SR35 billion the previous year. In 2008, Saudi imports from Singapore amounted to around SR3 billion, while Saudi exports to Singapore jumped to SR52 billion.
Addressing the Singaporean trade mission, Asharqia Chamber Vice President Saud Abdul Aziz Al-Qusaibi highlighted trade and investment opportunities in the Eastern Province. He said that the Eastern Province was well known for Jubail Industrial City, which is a hub of growing petrochemical industries. In addition, Jubail-II, a new industrial city under development, is expected to house petrochemical industries worth about SR190 billion.
Al-Qusaibi noted that the petrochemical industry in Saudi Arabia is poised to grow further following massive expansion programs undertaken by the Saudi Basic Industries Corp. (SABIC). Future expansion projects, mostly located in the region, are estimated at more than SR100 billion.
Al-Qusaibi noted Saudi Arabia had also undertaken hundreds of large-size projects in various economic sectors. For instance, he noted, Saudi Aramco had embarked on various investment projects worth about SR170 billion only in the oil sector. The company has also undertaken joint venture projects worth SR130 billion in the downstream industry.
He focused on longstanding friendly relations between the two countries, saying that Saudi Aramco and SABIC have had an enduring presence in Singapore.
