Saudi Arabia’s plan to ease restrictions on international entry later this month will enable companies to accelerate their market-entry and mobilisation plans post Covid-19, according to a foreign direct investment (FDI) expert.
Saudi Arabia recently announced to receive expatriates from previously banned countries who are fully vaccinated with the approved vaccines Oxford-AstraZeneca, Pfizer-BioNTech, Johnson & Johnson, Moderna, Sinopharm, and Sinovac.
Paul Arnold, managing director of Sovereign Saudi Arabia, a partner company of Sovereign AEI, said the announcement from Saudi General Authority of Civil Aviation will come “as a relief for not only citizens and expatriates but businesses as well”.
The new rule effective from September 23 will allow expats from more countries to enter the kingdom directly without quarantine or transit in other destinations.
“Gradually, more and more people have been returning to the workplace as the region gains momentum and economies begin to recover,” said Arnold.
He added that the giga-projects of Neom, the Red Sea Development, Qiddiya, Diriyah Gate and Amaala (pictured below) remain on track and continue to contribute to the kingdom’s GDP.
“With the ease of doing business and the quality of living continuously improving in Saudi, we are witnessing more clients recommencing travel and incorporating their physical operations in Riyadh, Jeddah and beyond,” Arnold said.
Commenting on the performance of non-oil sectors in 2021, he said the recent market report by the General Authority for Statistics (GaStat) forecasting strong growth in the second half of “doesn’t come as a surprise”.
The kingdom’s non-oil economy is projected to grow 4.3 percent this year and the giga projects that are in full swing, will add momentum, noted Arnold.
He said with ongoing and future projects in momentum and nearly 40 million expected job opportunities, the kingdom is “undeterred to become the destination of choice for doing businesses”.
Sovereign AEI was created to advise companies looking to enter, establish or expand in Saudi Arabia.
Under the new rules, the institutional quarantine period for travellers entering the kingdom from unbanned countries will be reduced to five days for non-vaccinated individuals or those who’ve received only one dose of vaccines approved by Saudi Arabia.
Those who’ve taken the full dose of a coronavirus vaccine not approved by the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the kingdom of Saudi Arabia, namely the Chinese-manufactured Sinopharm or Sinovac, or who’ve take only one shot of vaccines approved by the WHO but not by Saudi Arabia, also need to quarantine for five days.
Both groups need to submit a negative PCR test taken 72 hours before departure for Saudi Arabia and take two additional PCRs once in the kingdom: one within 24 hours from arriving and the second on the fifth day of the institutional quarantine. The quarantine ends with the second negative PCR result, taken in Saudi Arabia.
Dependents are allowed to enter with their immune relatives, with unvaccinated dependents under 18 years old subject to home quarantine procedures for five days and a PCR test on the fifth day. Dependants who are over 18 should follow institutional quarantine procedures, as per GACA guidelines.
Residents must take the second dose of Covid-19 vaccine in the kingdom after the end of the institutional quarantine, while those who have taken the Sinopharm or Sinovac vaccine should receive a booster dose from one of the vaccines available in the kingdom after arrival, stressed GACA.
Arriving passengers must register on the Quddum platform before arriving in Saudi Arabia.
Earlier in September, Saudi Arabia reopened its borders for citizens looking to travel to the UAE, South Africa and Argentina, with all three countries removed from the kingdom’s banned list provided that the precautionary and preventative measures to guard against the spread of coronavirus are adhered to.
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