Foreign Ministry Urges Saudi Arabia to Lift Travel Ban to Indonesia

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Indonesian Foreign Affairs Ministry is cooperating with the Embassy in Riyadh to have a discussion with the Saudi Arabia authority regarding the travel ban to Indonesia.

The ministry's director for Middle East affairs Bagus Hendraning Kobarsyih said the Indonesian Foreign Affairs Ministry had also asked the Saudi Embassy in Jakarta for assistance in this issue.

"[We want] this ban to be lifted because it is unreasonable," said Bagus to Tempo on Tuesday, May 24, 2022.

Saudi Arabia previously announced that citizens are barred from traveling to 16 countries, including Indonesia, India, Lebanon, Syria, Turkey, Iran, Afghanistan, and Vietnam, following another outbreak of COVID-19 and the rapid surge in the number of daily infections over the past few weeks. While in fact, out of the 16 countries, only the Democratic Republic of the Congo has shown a spike in cases.

The ministry's spokesman Teuku Faizasyah said on Monday, May 23, 2022, that Indonesia had conveyed to the Saudi government that it has succeeded in reducing positive case numbers and that the pandemic condition in the archipelago is better than in many countries in general.

Bagus acknowledged that the reason for the Saudi's travel ban was only known by the relevant authorities. However, he assessed that the policy is unfair given that Indonesian citizens are allowed to enter Saudi Arabia for hajj and umrah pilgrimage.

"There is no problem with Indonesian citizens who are allowed to visit [Saudi Arabia] for umrah and hajj pilgrimage," said Bagus.

DANIEL AHMAD

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