He said Singapore remained the second-largest foreign investor in Iskandar Malaysia with total committed investments of RM25.3 billion in a diverse range of sectors such as manufacturing, healthcare, education, business services and industrial estate development.

“The Covid-19 pandemic, which started in 2020, had an adverse impact on both our countries. The full opening of our border with Singapore on April 1, 2022 set the pace for economic recovery, especially for Iskandar Malaysia and Johor,” he said.

“We are seeing traffic jams across the causeway and the second link as well as long queues at the local eateries with more and more Singaporeans resuming their weekly visits to Johor and Malaysia. The Johor traffic to Singapore is almost back to normal,” he added.

Mustapa, who was speaking after co-chairing the 15th meeting of the Malaysia-Singapore Joint Ministerial Committee for Iskandar Malaysia (JMCIM) with Singapore’s national development minister Desmond Lee here, said the country’s economy is expected to be in recovery mode this year.

However, he cautioned that next year could be quite challenging and called on both countries to work closely to enhance their resilience in facing these challenges.

On the JMCIM, he said since its establishment in 2007, the committee has played an important role in enhancing collaboration between Malaysia and Singapore.

JMCIM is an important bridge that connects Malaysia and Singapore through Iskandar Malaysia, he added.