COVID-19: Singapore will look after Chinese migrant workers, FM Balakrishnan tells Wang Yi

SINGAPORE: Singapore will look after the well-being of Chinese migrant workers in the country, Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan reassured his counterpart in China, Mr Wang Yi, during a phone call on Tuesday (Apr 28).

This includes providing the workers with the necessary medical care and treatment, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) said in a statement on Tuesday.

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Dr Balakrishnan and Mr Wang “expressed appreciation for the mutual support and effective collaboration between Singapore and China amid the COVID-19 outbreak”, MFA added.

Both ministers had ongoing discussions on how to gradually resume economic activity and exchanges, and spoke about how safe international travel could be reintroduced in the “near future”.

READ: Singapore reports 528 new cases of COVID-19, taking total to 14,951

READ: COVID-19: 'Not true' Singapore has reduced testing among migrant workers, says Gan Kim Yong

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Both leaders also reaffirmed their commitment to maintain supply chain connectivity, especially for medical supplies and food, and the importance of continuing to enhance regional and international cooperation.

Migrant worker dormitories in Singapore have been especially hard-hit by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, with large groups of foreign workers testing positive for the virus.

Over the course of the outbreak, many migrant worker dormitories have also been gazetted as isolation areas to contain the spread of the coronavirus.

Last week, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong had also expressed a similar sentiment to India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

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