JEDDAH: Saudi Arabia discussed the resumption of international flights with greater focus on preventive measures after a virtual meeting with G20 foreign ministers. The move is meant to revive the country’s economy.
“Opening international borders in line with preventative measures” will “help to revive the economies of our countries” and restore hope in beating COVID-19, the Kingdom’s Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan said at the meeting.
The ministers pledged to strengthen cooperation to confront the pandemic and raise the level of preparedness in order to deal with crises in the future.
According to Dr. Abdullah Al-Maghlouth, of the Saudi Economic Association, the reopening of borders through international flights “will undoubtedly stimulate the Saudi economy.”
The economist told Arab News that a number of big international companies are willing to send their representatives and advisers to get into the growing Saudi market.
“The suspension of flights due to the pandemic has caused a setback in the progress of these companies’ plans and some investments and projects that were planned to be implemented,” he said.
He said the move will also contribute to the country’s GDP. “The tourism and hospitality, Umrah and entertainment sectors will also improve, as Saudi Arabia has become an important destination to tourists from all over the world.
“When these tourists arrive in Saudi Arabia, they will find all that they need and fulfil their desires of visiting impressive landscapes, comfortable recreational centers and spacious, modern malls. In addition to Umrah visits, these will revive economy,” he added.
Fahad Al-Asmari, a Saudi schoolteacher, said that the closure of borders had harmfully affected the global economy.
INNUMBERS
• 319,141 COVID-19 cases
• 295,063 Recoveries
• 20,063 Active cases
• 4,015 Total deaths
He added that the Saudi people fully trust all the decisions of their leaders.
“The leaders of this country will not approve anything that is against the safety of Saudis and expats. Any decisions will for sure include strict instructions to maintain health measures,” Al-Asmari said.
He noted that the resumption of flights, with protective measures, has become a need.
“I think this applies to all countries in the world. Many Saudi businesspeople are not only investing in their country, but also in different parts of the world. So, being away will certainly affect their businesses,” Al-Asmari said. “Moreover, ambitious global companies and individual investors consider Saudi Arabia as the future land of investment opportunities.”
He noted that the timing of the decision was good, as coronavirus cases around the world are dropping, and that there is much talk about a vaccine for COVID-19.
Abdullah Al-Zahrani, a government employee, said he feared a new wave of the virus, and resuming international flights could worsen the situation after it had improved.
“I support the decision to resume international flights, and I understand what bad effects the suspension of these flights has had on the national economy. Yes, we want the flights back, but we don’t want the virus to spread again across the country after the Saudi health system succeeded in decreasing the cases,” Al-Zahrani said.
He added: “The resumption of flights requires high coordination with the health authorities in the countries the flights are coming from. Moreover, the Saudi Health Ministry should take stricter health measures to prevent people with COVID-19 from entering the country. Otherwise, the economy will spend more money on treating patients.”
Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia on Friday announced 33 new COVID-19-related deaths. The death toll now stands at 4,015. There were 822 new cases reported in the Kingdom, meaning 319,141 people had now contracted the disease. There were 20,063 active cases, and 1,484 of them are in critical condition.
In addition, 1,099 more patients had recovered from COVID-19, taking the total number of recoveries in the Kingdom to 295,063.
Saudi Arabia has so far conducted 5,314,461 PCR tests, with 52,647 carried out in the past 24 hours.
