Cairo: Saudi Arabia and Bahrain had signed an agreement linking “health passport” for travellers using the King Fahd Causeway connecting the two countries, local media reported.
The step aims to facilitate movement of passengers among citizens and expatriates using the causeway and verifying conformity to health measures set by both kingdoms as part of their efforts to limit the spread of COVID-19.
The Saudi Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority (SDAIA) and Bahrain’s Information and eGovernment Authority (iGA) Thursday signed in Riyadh a memorandum of understanding to launch the “health passport”, which ensures that citizens and foreign residents travelling between the two countries meet anti-coronavirus criteria.
The pact aims to link the COVID-19 precautionary and monitoring measures of both kingdoms to streamline traffic via the causeway by technically integrating the Saudi health Tawakkalna and Bahraini BeAware apps through linking the “health passport” information hosted on the two apps with the two countries’ passport systems, helping determine passengers’ eligibility based on COVID-19 health rules.
The linkage will provide a comprehensive and accurate database of travellers, thus easing procedures and saving time and effort. It will also enable the King Fahd Causeway personnel to immediately verify passengers’ personal and health data, as well as enhance data security and privacy.
The 25km-long causeway was shut in March last year as part of a string of measures to fight the spread of COVID-19. The facility was reopened four months later.
The bridge was inaugurated in 1986 and has since been vital for movement between Saudi Arabia and Bahrain, two members of the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council.
