Minister of Haj and Umrah Mochamad Irfan Yusuf has stated that the\ngovernment is pursuing efficiency in the haj pilgrimage by reducing the\nlength of stay for Indonesian pilgrims in Saudi Arabia through\nadditional flight slots from both countries.<\/p>\n
Minister Irfan said the effort was discussed during his meeting with\nSaudi Arabia\u2019s Minister of Transport and Logistic Services, Saleh bin\nNasser Al-Jasser, who expressed support for the plan.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis evening our discussion was related to, firstly, the Saudi\ngovernment strongly supports our planned programme to build a Kampung\nHaji and they hope its construction can begin soon,\u201d he told the media\nat the residence of the Saudi Arabian Ambassador to Indonesia in Jakarta\non Monday evening.<\/p>\n
In addition to the construction of Kampung Haji, Minister Irfan said\nboth parties also discussed steps to streamline Indonesia\u2019s haj\noperations by reducing the length of stay for pilgrims in Saudi\nArabia.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe also requested, in order to make the haj operations more\nefficient, to reduce the length of stay in Saudi Arabia by adding flight\nslots from both Saudi Arabia and Indonesia, so that it will reduce the\ntime spent in Saudi Arabia. Alhamdulillah, His Excellency the Saudi\nTransport Minister also gave his support,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
When asked whether the efficiency measures were intended to reduce\nthe haj costs borne by pilgrims, Irfan said discussions on the cost\ncomponent involved a different mechanism. However, he is confident the\npolicy will have an impact.<\/p>\n
\u201cOh, that is a different matter, there will be a different\ncalculation later. God willing, it will have an effect,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
On the same occasion, Minister Saleh conveyed that his meeting with\nIndonesian Transportation Minister Dudy Purwagandhi had discussed\nstrengthening cooperation in the transportation and logistics services\nsector between the two countries.<\/p>\n
Besides discussing investment opportunities in the maritime sector\nand the exchange of experience and expertise in the railway sector, they\nalso talked about increasing flight frequency between the two countries\nvia Saudi Arabian airlines.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe also discussed increasing the frequency of flights between the\ntwo countries, both by Saudia and Riyadh Air, which is expected to begin\nserving the route to Jakarta in the coming months,\u201d said Saleh.<\/p>\n
The Saudi Minister affirmed that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia\u2019s\ngovernment places great importance on improving service quality for all\npilgrims by providing various facilities while in the Holy Land,\nincluding for Indonesian pilgrims who constitute the largest\ncontingent.<\/p>\n
To support the comfort of the haj pilgrimage, he said Saudi Arabia\ncontinues to develop various supporting infrastructure, including the\nHaramain High Speed Railway, the Al-Mashaer Train, the expansion of the\nJamarat area, and several other development projects.<\/p>\n
\u201cGod willing, we hope to continue working with His Excellency the\nMinister of Haj and the Minister of Transportation to bring more\nconvenience and service improvements for Indonesian pilgrims in the\nfuture,\u201d Saleh said.<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/haj-minister-saudi-arabia-supports-haj-efficiency-with-additional-flight-slots-1783965133", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }