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View all search results'Indonesian Village' project tops Prabowo’s talks in Saudi Arabia
One key initiative under the plan to improve pilgrimage management is the construction of an “Indonesian Village” near Mecca’s Masjidil Haram Grand Mosque, designed to accommodate the large number of Indonesian haj and umrah pilgrims each year.
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President Prabowo Subianto is greeted on Tuesday by students of the Indonesian School in Jeddah, who waved Indonesian and Saudi flags during his first state visit to Saudi Arabia. (Courtesy of /Presidential Secretariat)
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ndonesia’s haj management is set to become a key focus of President Prabowo Subianto’s first state visit to Saudi Arabia this week, officials have confirmed, as Jakarta faces mounting criticism over its poor handling of the annual pilgrimage.
The President departed from Halim Perdanakusuma Air Force Base in Jakarta on Tuesday and landed about ten hours later at King Abdul Aziz International Airport in Jeddah. He was welcomed by prominent Saudi figures including Commerce Minister Majid bin Abdullah Al Qasabi, Mecca Deputy Governor Prince Saud Bin Mis’al bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud and Jeddah Mayor Saleh Ali Al-Turki.
High-level talks with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) are scheduled for Wednesday evening, when the two leaders are expected to focus on improving services for hundreds of thousands of Indonesian haj pilgrims who travel to the kingdom each year.
“There will also be discussions on our plan to establish an Indonesian haj village in Saudi Arabia,” State Secretary Prasetyo Hadi said in a statement following Prabowo’s departure. “The timing of the meeting, coinciding with the end of this year’s haj season, is expected to help lay the groundwork for better implementation next year”.
Prabowo is accompanied by Foreign Minister Sugiono and Cabinet Secretary Teddy Indra Wijaya, as well as several high-ranking officials who arrived earlier in Jeddah. These include Coordinating Food Minister Zulkifli Hasan, Religious Affairs Minister Nasaruddin Umar, Investment and Downstream Minister Rosan Roeslani and head of the newly inaugurated Haj Management Agency (BP Haji), Irfan Yusuf.
Read also: Saudi Arabia walks back plan to cut haj quota, supports Indonesia's haj reforms
In early June, as more than 203,000 Indonesian pilgrims began their journey to the holy sites, reports of disorganized haj arrangements surfaced, prompting a stern response from Saudi Arabia. The kingdom has threatened to reduce Indonesia’s annual haj quota by 50 percent unless significant improvements are made.
