Mayor of Kendari Visits Saudi Arabian Religious Attaché in Jakarta, Explores Religious Cooperation

Kendari Mayor Siska Karina Imran visited the Office of Religious Attaché of the Saudi Arabian Embassy in Menteng, Central Jakarta, on Friday, 27 February 2026. The visit was intended to establish bilateral relations between the Kendari municipal government and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

Siska Karina was accompanied by Kendari City Secretary Amir Hasan, Head of the City Communication and Information Service Sahuriyanto, and Head of the Public Welfare Division Sapri.

Siska stated that the meeting aimed to explore cooperation in the form of social and religious activities. She invited the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to support the Kendari municipal government’s programmes, including a thousand Qur’an teachers initiative.

“We emphasise again and in principle the Saudi Kingdom supports all our activities,” she told Tempo on Friday, 27 February 2026.

The thousand Qur’an teachers programme is a collaborative initiative between the municipal government and the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) Kendari branch. Siska stated that the teachers would be deployed to 500 mosques in Kendari to teach the Qur’an to the community.

According to Siska, the visit also represented a follow-up to a joint breaking of the fast event held by the municipal government and community in Kendari, attended by a Saudi Arabian embassy representative on Wednesday, 25 February 2026. The event took place at Al Alam Mosque in Kendari and was attended by approximately 2,000 people.

Siska expressed hope that the meeting with the Head of Religious Attaché of the Saudi Arabian Embassy would lead to sustained and continuous collaboration between the two parties. “We are also supported regarding all the activities we undertake, for instance social activities, religious activities, and other activities,” she said.

Meanwhile, Head of Religious Attaché of the Saudi Arabian Embassy Sheikh Ahmed bin Essa Al-Hazmi stated that he would provide support for the programmes launched by the Kendari municipal government. “May the cooperation continue, in the medium and long term,” he said on the same occasion.

He noted that Kendari is one of the regions actively collaborating with religious institutions. Consequently, activities undertaken can proceed effectively. Sheikh Ahmed also stated that he would always welcome delegations from the Kendari municipal government, which would further strengthen cooperation and goodwill relations.

“Here the religious attaché office is open. Before our doors opened, our hearts opened first,” he said.