MOTAC discusses with neighbouring countries on travel bubbles

PUTRAJAYA, Feb 6  -- The Tourism, Arts and Culture Ministry (MOTAC) has held discussions with the Health, Home Affairs and Foreign Affairs ministries to explore opportunities for the creation of travel bubble arrangements with neighbouring countries during the COVID-19 situation.

Its minister Datuk Seri Nancy Shukri said among the identified countries were Brunei, Singapore and Thailand,as well as other ASEAN countries and the Asia-Pacific countries such as Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand as these places were identified as safe by the World Health Organisation.

"However, this implementation is subject to bilateral discussions and considerations on health, immigration, data tracking, and ongoing monitoring by the relevant agencies for both countries," she said in a statement, today.

Apart from that, she said, as the chairman of the Regional Commission for the East Asia & the Pacific  on the Global Tourism Crisis Committee, United Nations World Tourism Organisation, Malaysia also voiced the need for transparency and standardisation of standard operating procedures across borders by safe countries to facilitate travel by taking into account the views of the health agencies of the countries involved.

Meanwhile, Nancy thanked Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin for his success in obtaining an Indonesian agreement in allowing the Reciprocal Green Lane/Travel Corridor Arrangement (RGL/TCA).

"Alhamdulillah, it is good news and long awaited for MOTAC," she said.

Nancy said the initiative was one of MOTAC's tourism and cultural recovery plans which was formulated since July last year as a measure to revitalise or "rebound" the country's tourism and culture industry.

Yesterday, Muhyiddin held a meeting with Indonesian President Joko Widodo, and among the issues raised during the four-eye meeting were investment and trade, implementation of RGL, palm oil discrimination, and cooperation in tackling the COVID-19 pandemic and current political unrest in Myanmar.

-- BERNAMA