ASIATODAY.ID, JAKARTA – The Indonesian government appreciates Saudi Arabia for having established very good relations, especially in organizing the Hajj and Umrah.
The reason is, the number of Indonesians who carry out the Hajj and Umrah every year is very large.
Indonesia’s Coordinating Minister for the Economy, Airlangga Hartarto, encouraged Saudi Arabia to invest more in Indonesia.
“There are around 1.4 million Indonesians who carry out the Hajj and Umrah every year. If the average spending is only US$5 thousand, the foreign exchange will be US$7 billion. “Because of that, Saudi Arabia also needs greater investment in Indonesia,” said Airlangga when meeting Saudi Arabia’s Ambassador to Indonesia Faisal bin Abdullah Al-Amudi, on Monday, July 29 2024.
Ambassador Faisal said that apart from cooperation in carrying out the Hajj and Umrah pilgrimages which have gone well every year, the two countries need to focus more on cooperation in the economic and investment fields.
Ambassador Faisal also said that in 2023 President Joko Widodo visited Saudi Arabia twice and in October 2023 met with the Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Mohammed bin Salman Al-Saud in Riyadh which was followed by the signing of a number of memorandums of understanding between the Government of the Republic and the Kingdom Saudi Arabia.
“Saudi Arabia has a Vision 2030, and Indonesia also has a future vision of a Golden Indonesia 2045, so new ideas are needed to strengthen Indonesia’s economic cooperation relationship with Saudi Arabia,” said Ambassador Faisal.
Ambassador Faisal also reiterated the need to encourage the private sector to continue cooperation and investment, such as Aramco and Acwa Power, which can be encouraged to invest and work on various projects in Indonesia.
Ambassador Faisal also said that Aramco already exists in Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand, but in Indonesia there is still no visible investment.
Responding to this, Minister Airlangga said that a minimum of 15 hectares of land had been prepared in Batam so that a mosque and Islamic center could immediately be built which could become iconic monuments.
To realize this plan, Ambassador Faisal plans to immediately visit Batam to see the land provided and at the same time see development developments and the potential for economic cooperation in Batam.
“Land has been prepared in Batam, a mosque and Islamic center and an iconic monument can immediately be built,” said Airlangga.
Not only that, Minister Airlangga also conveyed a proposal from the Elected Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto regarding the development of an Indonesian Village in Mecca.
Ambassador Faisal responded positively to the proposal and said that the Government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia was very confident that relations between Indonesia and Saudi Arabia would be even stronger in the future. Ambassador Faisal also admitted that this proposal had also been discussed at a meeting between the President-Elect and the Government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. (AT Network)
Follow Us at Google News and WA Channel