Saudi Arabia Reveals Good Relations With Indonesia, Calls Hajj Pilgrims Very Disciplined

Illustration (Unsplash)

JAKARTA - Ambassador of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to Indonesia, Essam bin Abed Al-Thaqafi revealed that diplomatic relations between Saudi Arabia and Indonesia are still very good. Especially, cooperation in the field of education.

"That's very good, where Saudi Arabia has provided 500 educational scholarships to Indonesian students to study in Saudi Arabia," said Essam during a chat through a webinar, Wednesday, June 30.

Among them, he continued, at the Islamic University of Medina, Wali Songo in Riyadh, and other universities are also open to Indonesian students.

Essam said that Indonesian students in Saudi Arabia not only learn about Islamic sharia but the Arab kingdoms also receive scholarships for Indonesian students in the fields of medicine, architecture and others.

"Arabs have also opened educational institutions in Indonesia where currently, they already have 4 branches, Jakarta, Semarang, Surabaya, and Makassar. All of these branches teach Islamic law and Arabic," he said.

In fact, he continued, Padang University will now inaugurate a special headquarters to intensify Saudi Arabia's activities. Where both of them will often conduct workshops, seminars, discussions and it is beneficial for Padang University students.

Saudi Arabia No Longer Rely on Oil as a Source of Income

Apart from education, Essam said that economic relations between Indonesia and Saudi Arabia are also going well. The largest oil company in Saudi Arabia, Saudi Aramco is also currently still cooperating with the Indonesian oil company, PT Pertamina.

"As you know, Saudi Arabia's largest oil company has good relations with oil companies in Indonesia, namely Pertamina. Which as far as I know the relationship between the two giant oil companies is quite good and both are trying to open development investments in the oil sector to the interests of both countries," he said.

However, said Essam, currently Saudi Arabia is heading in a direction that no longer relies or relies on oil as a source of state income. Where, oil has been the mainstay of Saudi Arabia for decades.

"In accordance with the 2030 vision which makes Saudi Arabia more open to investment in tourism and others. Especially in tourism, where Saudi Arabia is very concerned about improving the sector. This is Saudi Arabia's policy to follow the current direction of global developments, in where all countries try to minimize or protect the environment," he said.

So, he continued, an environmentally friendly economy became a pioneer for the kingdom of Saudi Arabia in making its economic policies. Although the world's dependence on oil is large, the world will slowly enter an era where people are no longer dependent on oil.

Saudi Arabia Admits Indonesian Hajj Pilgrims are Very Orderly

Besides the matter of cooperation between the two countries, Essam acknowledged that the Indonesian pilgrims were very orderly and disciplined. In fact, he said, the orderliness of the Indonesian Hajj pilgrims has greatly impacted the convenience of the Hajj officers who help these pilgrims perform Hajj and Umrah.

"Yes, it is more comfortable because Indonesian pilgrims are very orderly and disciplined so that the implementation of the pilgrimage can feel lighter. Even though the number of Indonesian pilgrims is large, but because of order and discipline it seems as if they don't exist, so there is no visible chaos of problems," said Essam .

Relations between the Indonesian press and Saudi Arabia are good

Likewise with the Indonesian press, Essam said that the relationship between the homeland media and the kingdom of Saudi Arabia was also very good.

It is known that some time ago the cancellation of the 2021 Hajj had become a polemic until the Saudi Arabian embassy sent a letter of clarification to the Indonesian House of Representatives.

"We have a very good relationship with the Indonesian press and media. During my tenure I visited television stations several times for interviews and also visited the media. But due to Covid, it has not been implemented yet," he said.

However, Essam advised the Indonesian press to dig more information from Saudi Arabia apart from the hajj and umrah issues. For example, tourism or culture can be reported.

"But one thing I want to say is that the Indonesian media still tend to look at Saudi Arabia from the perspective of Hajj and Umrah only, even though there are many things that can be explored together in Saudi Arabia, not only problems or matters of Hajj and Umrah, but insights. culture and so on. This is a wealth that can strengthen the relationship between the Indonesian press and the kingdom of Saudi Arabia," Essam suggested.

So how will the COVID-19 pandemic affect the Saudi Arabian economy?

Essam said that this COVID-19 had hit all countries including Saudi Arabia. In Arabia itself, the economy is corrected quite deeply, in fact there are about 50 to 60 thousand citizens living outside Saudi Arabia.

"And we implemented a policy to tighten their entry. Well, the kingdom of Saudi Arabia finally made a policy to be able to facilitate all its citizens who are outside. First, starting from finding lodging, facilitating meals and so on and it is a very large number of up to 50-60 thousand people outside Saudi Arabia. On average they survive and cannot enter Saudi Arabia within 1 to 2 months,"

"After they enter they have to be quarantined in a place. Of course we provide food service and so on for their needs and it is a cost that is not small for us. That is what has a very big impact on the economy of the kingdom of Saudi Arabia," he explained.

However, the work of Saudi Arabia is grateful because currently the achievement of the vaccination program in the country has reached 50 percent.

"On the other hand, the vaccination, Alhamdulillah, currently most of the citizens of Saudi Arabia have been vaccinated, so if you can say 50 percent have received the vaccination and it is free of charge given by the kingdom. Not only Saudi citizens but the people who live there are also given the vaccine regularly free by the kingdom of Saudi Arabia," Essam said.