JAKARTA - The Ministry of Religion through the Directorate General of Hajj and Umrah Organization met the Saudi Arabian Ambassador to Indonesia, Esham Altsaqafi, and lobbied so that prospective Indonesian Umrah pilgrims could immediately have the opportunity to depart. Umrah Indonesia to be able to go to the Holy Land," said Plt. Director General of PHU at the Ministry of Religion Khoirizi in a written statement received in Jakarta, reported by Antara, Thursday, September 23. Until now, there has been no recent decision from Saudi Arabia regarding the implementation of Umrah for foreign countries, including Indonesia. In the meeting, Khorizi explained to the Saudi Arabian Ambassador that the handling of COVID-19 in Indonesia continues to improve and prospective Indonesian Umrah pilgrims are also ready to take part in the program. "There are five countries that send the most Umrah pilgrims, namely Pakistan, Indonesia, India, Turkey and Egypt, which have not been able to send their Umrah pilgrims. We hope that Indonesian Umrah pilgrims will be prioritized to be dispatched immediately," he said.
Meanwhile, Saudi Arabian Ambassador Esham Altsaqafi emphasized that Saudi Arabia has never banned Indonesian Muslims from performing Umrah. According to him, the arrangement was made in order to overcome the pandemic.
Esham admitted that he had just reported to the Saudi Arabian authorities that the COVID-19 case in Indonesia had begun to decline. According to him, he conveyed this information to be a consideration for the government of Saudi Arabia. He also explained that although the implementation of Umrah had been opened since Muharram 1443 H for several countries, the demand was still low, only around 1,000-1,500 people. very strict, in order to prevent the spread of the pandemic," he said.
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