Singaporeans visiting Myanmar will no longer need to apply for a visa. On Tuesday, the first day of Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong’s official visit to Myanmar, the two countries exchanged diplomatic notes on visa waivers.
Under the agreement, from December 1, the two countries will grant visa waivers to each other’s citizens for stays longer than 30 days, and subject to existing entry requirements. This arrangement will be applicable to those holding ordinary passports. The visa waiver announcement is part of the growing ties between the two countries.
Earlier, Prime Minister Lee met President Htin Kyaw at Rashtrapati Bhavan, where he was accorded a ceremonial welcome. He also met Myanmar’s State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi.
This policy has been implemented to promote tourism, as it has been seen that there has been a steady increase in the number of tourists from Myanmar visiting Singapore. Annual visitor arrivals from Myanmar to Singapore increased by 12 percent from 2011 to the previous year (2015), an increase of 3 percent each year.
Last year (2015), 105,452 Myanmar tourists visited Singapore. They spent an average of $2,811 per person per trip.
Meanwhile, according to Myanmar’s Ministry of Hotels and Tourism, 45,125 tourists from Singapore visited Myanmar last year (2015).
There are now also weekly flights between Singapore and Myanmar’s two largest cities, Yangon and Mandalay. From January to May (2016) this year, the number of flights in a week increased from 44 to 49.
Prime Minister Lee said Singapore continues to support Myanmar’s development, including by sharing expertise in relevant areas.
Myanmar officials have been invited to visit Singapore for further discussions on education policy and the development of hawker centers, the foreign ministry said in a statement on Tuesday.
PM Lee also briefed Ms. Suu Kyi about the progress of the Singapore-Myanmar Vocational Training Institute and the offer of internships in Singapore to its top students.
The leaders underlined the strong ties between the two countries and discussed ways to strengthen economic ties. They also exchanged views on how tourist flows between the two countries can be strengthened through greater air connectivity.