Indonesia Secures Additional Hajj Quota of 20,000 for 2024

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Indonesia secured an additional quota of 20,000 for the 2024 Hajj pilgrimage following a bilateral meeting between President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) and Prime Minister of Saudi Arabia, Mohammed bin Salman al-Saud.

At the meeting that took place on the sidelines of the 1st Summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and the Gulf Cooperation Council (ASEAN-GCC) in Riyadh on Friday, President Widodo spoke to the PM about the long queue for Hajj in Indonesia.

The long queue is leading to some would-be pilgrims having to wait up to 47 years.

"Therefore, Indonesia needs an additional Hajj quota. Alhamdulillah (Praise to God), the response was very positive," Jokowi said while delivering a press statement regarding his visit to Riyadh, which was uploaded on the YouTube channel of the Presidential Secretariat.

According to the President, Indonesia was given an additional quota of at least 20,000 for next year's Hajj, less than 12 hours after the meeting.

Earlier, Indonesia's pilgrim quota for the 2024 Hajj pilgrimage was capped at 221,000, while the quota for Hajj officers was set at 2,200.

The Indonesian government has started to prepare for the 2024 Hajj services, including preparing qualified Hajj officers in accordance with the needs.

Director general of Hajj and Umrah implementation at the Ministry of Religious Affairs, Hilman Latief, had earlier highlighted the importance of careful planning for the preparation of Hajj officers, including determining the qualifications and placement schemes to improve Hajj services.

ANTARA

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