Minister for the Protection of Indonesian Migrant Workers: Indonesian Migrant Workers in the Middle East Remain Safe
Minister for the Protection of Indonesian Migrant Workers Mukhtarudin confirms to date there have been no evacuation requests from Indonesian migrant workers (PMI) in the Middle East. He says that as far as is known, no PMI has been affected by the intensifying war between Iran, the United States and Israel.
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“Alhamdulillah up to today there has been no evacuation request, neither from the governments of Middle Eastern countries, nor from our representatives at the KBRI. In other words, everything is still under control,” Mukhtarudin said when met at the KP2MI Office, Jakarta, on Thursday, 5 March 2026.
The Golkar politician explained that Indonesian migrant workers in the Gulf region affected by the conflict, such as Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait, and the United Arab Emirates, are observed to be safe. However, he noted reports that several workers in Kuwait have been psychologically affected. They have suffered trauma from hearing the blasts near their residential apartments.
“Indeed, it is traumatic. But even so, there have already been coaching and assistance programs,” he added.
To anticipate an escalation of the conflict, KP2MI has formed a crisis-monitoring geopolitics team to update real-time data on thousands of Indonesian migrant workers in the affected countries.
Mukhtarudin also urged Indonesian migrant workers to actively report to the KBRI and official government channels if they are in an emergency.
“Principally, we, the government, together with representatives at the KBRI and KJRI, will go all out to monitor and follow day-to-day, the minute-by-minute escalations happening in the Middle East,” he stated.
The Middle East conflict has escalated since a US missile strike on Iran on Saturday, 26 February 2026. Iran retaliated with attacks on several US military bases in the Gulf region, including Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait, and the United Arab Emirates. The war began after the US and Iran failed to reach a nuclear agreement in talks in Geneva, Switzerland, on 26 February 2026.