Vice President Appreciates Facilities Given By Saudi Arabia For Hajj Pilgrims

JAKARTA - Vice President Ma'ruf Amin appreciated the facilities provided by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for pilgrims from Indonesia who carried out the pilgrimage in the Holy Land.

This was conveyed by the Vice President in a meeting with the Ambassador of Saudi Arabia to Indonesia Faisal bin Abdullah H. Amodi in Jakarta, Tuesday, June 6.

"Today, the Vice President has met with the Ambassador of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to Indonesia, His Excellency Faisal Abdullah H. Amodi in Jakarta. During the meeting, the Vice President expressed his appreciation for the facilitation given by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to Indonesian Hajj Pilgrims," said the spokesman for the Vice President Masduki Baidlowi as reported by ANTARA.

Masduki said the Vice President appreciated the facilities provided by Saudi Arabia to Indonesian pilgrims, especially the Fast Track or Mecca Route facility, which is currently being carried out at Soekarno-Hatta Airport.

Through this Mecca Route service, the Hajj pilgrim immigration process has been carried out since at Indonesian airports, so they do not need to be checked for passports and visas again when they arrive in Saudi Arabia.

The Vice President also appreciated the addition of 8,000 quotas for Indonesian pilgrims to 229,000 this year.

At the meeting filled with a joint lunch, the Vice President also reminded Ambassador Faisal Amodi about the importance of convenience for the export of Indonesian halal products to Saudi Arabia.

"This includes providing wider opportunities for Indonesian entrepreneurs and exporters in providing the commodities and products needed to serve Indonesian pilgrims," he explained.

In addition, the Vice President stated that he supports the ideas, vision and breakthrough steps of Ambassador Faisal Abdullah H. Amodi in Indonesia in an effort to improve bilateral relations between the two countries which are closely involved in various sectors.

Meanwhile, Ambassador Faisal Amodi conveyed several issues in improving relations between the two countries, including the hope of accelerating the discussion of the memorandum of understanding (MoU) and the Indonesia-Saudi Arabia agreement which has been signed by the two countries, but has not been realized since 2017.

Ambassador Faisal Amodi also conveyed the need to adjust the mechanism related to sending Indonesian Workers to Saudi Arabia, which is still a moratorium and uses labor agents.

He also proposed to provide visa-free to Saudi Arabian tourists to Indonesia who have been with Visa on Arrival.