The Minister for Social and Family Development and Second Minister for Health as well as Minister-in-charge of Muslim Affairs, Mr Masagos Zulkifli, was in Saudi Arabia in January for ministerial level meetings and to attend the Hajj and Umrah Services Conference and Exhibition. The Minister shared with IN Diplomacy his thoughts about developments related to cooperation with the Saudi government about the Haj and beyond
Singapore’s Minister-in-charge of Muslim Affairs, Mr. Masagos Zulkifli visited Saudi Arabia from 8th to 12th January 2024 to ratify the Haj and Umrah Agreement with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) and attend the Hajj and Umrah Services Conference & Exhibition in Jeddah.
The Minister was also accompanied by a delegation of Singapore companies led by Enterprise Singapore (EnterpriseSG) together with the support of the Singapore Malay Chamber of Commerce & Industry (SMCCI). The delegation also took the opportunity to meet some Saudi trade agencies as well as to tour some supermarkets in Riyadh. These visits, said Minister Masagos, were also significant they go towards opening doors for more halal products certified by the Islamic Religious Council of Singapore (Muis) to be introduced in Saudi Arabia and vice-versa.
In an interview with IN Diplomacy magazine, Minister Masagos said “With our bilateral ties now elevated to Strategic Partnership following Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong’s official visit to KSA last October, we look forward to deepening and expanding collaborations across different fields beyond the Haj and Umrah sectors. For example, we signed a Memorandum of Understanding to mutually recognize the halal certificates of both countries and ensure high quality food products are exported to both destinations.” Notably, this is KSA’s first Halal MoU with a non-Muslim majority country that brings about extensive economic benefits to both KSA and Singapore.
An MoU was signed on 19th October 2023 between the CEO of the Saudi Food & Drug Authority (SFDA), Professor Hisham Saad Al-Jadhey, and Muis Chief Executive, Mr. Kadir Maideen, to mutually recognize Halal certificates and marks. Singapore-based companies can export Muis Halal-certified products produced in Singapore to KSA. Correspondingly, products certified under SFDA which are produced in KSA will also be recognized by Muis for use by Halal-certified establishments in Singapore. Beyond mutual recognition, the MOU also covers various areas of cooperation on halal matters.
In Riyadh, the Singapore business delegation visited the popular Lulu and Carrefour supermarket chains which also have a strong presence across the region. The Singapore Minister hoped that with the new Singapore-Saudi Arabia Strategic Partnership more Singapore brands will be able to enter and find themselves on the supermarket shelves of the Saudi market. At Carrrefour’s headquarters the Singapore companies brought samples for the Carrefour officials to taste to get feedback on what might do well in the Saudi market. The Singapore Minister also met the Saudi Assistant Minister for Investment Mr. Ibrahim Al-Mubarak. He had highlight ed to the Saudi minister that Singapore companies are very keen to invest and export to Saudi Arabia. The new Strategic Partnership paves the way for both KSA and Singapore businesses to introduce and market their products such as halal meat and popular fast food restaurants. He said Singapore too wants to help KSA expand their businesses in the region by leveraging on Singapore as their key strategic base. Singapore’s Ministry of Trade and Industry and Enterprise Singapore are working together to provide the necessary support and connections for businesses to benefit from this MOU.
Easier Now To Do Business
Minister Masagos Zulkifli was happy to hear from the Vice Minister of Commerce and CEO of National Competitiveness Center, Dr
Iman Bint Habas Al-Mutiari, that the Saudi Government has developed a new strategy to enable businesses to set up their operations in Saudi Arabia easily. They can even do so when they are outside of the country, through virtual agents. Such developments and transformation in KSA have helped to encourage investments. Saudi Arabia has setup the one-stop Saudi Business Center modelled after Singapore’s system where one can start and register a business within minutes at the Center and get help with contracts or commercial agreements. Dr Iman shared that they have learned from the Singapore success stories of starting a business and have adapted it to create their own processes. There are currently 17 such Business Centers around Saudi Arabia.
Haj Agreement
The Singapore Minister also visited the Hajj & Umrah Services Conference & Exhibition that was held at the Jeddah Superdome from 8th to 11th January 2024. There were more than 100 exhibitors. It was organised by the Saudi Ministry of Hajj and Umrah and was a massive showcase of the latest developments and services that are meant to help improve the Haj pilgrim experience.
Minister Masagos said, “The Hajj and Umrah Service Conference and Exhibition in Jeddah showcased advanced tech nology such as Artificial Intelligence, Chat GPT and Virtual Reality to improve services for pilgrims. Similarly, MUIS too has been working hard to enhance pilgrims’ experience by harnessing technology. This year, for the first time Muis was invited to set up a booth showcasing the Singapore Pilgrims’ Affairs Office PilgrimSG app which won the Labbaitum Award for the Best Country
Offices last year. Additionally, MUIS also won the Best Customer Satisfaction for Transaction Services at the Digital Services Awards 2023 for the MyHajSG portal.”
Minister-in-charge of Muslim Affairs, Mr Masagos Zulkifli signed the Haj agreement with the Ministry of Hajj and Umrah, while attending the Hajj and Umrah Exhibition and Conference in Jeddah. Singapore was allocated 900 places for the 2024 Haj season. Minister Masagos met Minister Dr Tawfiq Al Rabiah of the Ministry of Hajj & Umrah where they signed the agreement and reaffirmed their committment to strengthen bilateral ties and expand on their partnership to higher levels.
Regarding some of the key areas of collaboration that will benefit Singapore pilgrims this year Minister Masagos Zulkifli
said, “The Singapore and KSA Governments are working closely to ensure a smooth experience for the pilgrims. These include planning for the charter flights to and from Jeddah, enabling Singapore to bring our medical team to Mecca and Medina as part of the Singapore Pilgrims’ Affairs Office (SPAO) medical support, and providing additional administrative and logistical support to SPAO and the Singapore travel agencies in KSA. Having our doctors and nurses at the Holy Land enables SPAO to provide the first line of defence and medical support and not overburden the KSA hospitals for manageable conditions. Such collaborations only serve to further strengthen our bilateral relations.”
