Good news comes from President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) who is currently in Saudi Arabia. He said that the Saudi Arabian government had approved an additional 20 thousand Hajj quota for Indonesia.
Jokowi conveyed this after holding a bilateral meeting with the Prime Minister and Saudi Crown Prince, Mohammed bin Salman (MbS), on Thursday (19/10/2023). "In less than 12 hours the additional commitment to the Hajj quota was immediately given at least 20 thousand for next year, the addition was given to Indonesia," said Jokowi in a video statement, Friday (20/10/2023), as reported by CNN Indonesia.
This additional Hajj quota was given by MbS, Jokowi claimed, after he confided that the queue for the Hajj in Indonesia was very long, with some even having to wait up to 47 years. "So Indonesia needs an additional Haj quota and thank God the response has been very positive," he said.
This year's Indonesian Hajj quota is set at 221 thousand quota. The quota consists of 203.320 regular Hajj pilgrims and 17.680 special Hajj pilgrims.
