Religious Affairs Minister Yaqut Cholil Qoumas discussed initial preparations for implementation of the 2023 Hajj pilgrimage with Hajj and Umrah Minister of Saudi Arabia Tawfiq Al-Rabiah during a meeting in Mina, Saudi Arabia, on Monday.

“We have agreed to make improvements for what is still lacking and continue to improve services that are already good,” Qoumas said as quoted from the Hajj Media Center here on Tuesday.

At the meeting, both ministers were on the same page to continually improve services for Indonesian Hajj pilgrims.

On the occasion, Minister Qoumas also lauded the Government of Saudi Arabia for the successful implementation of the 2022 Hajj.

“I express my highest appreciation for the cooperation and services to Indonesian Hajj pilgrims provided by the Saudi government,” he remarked.

During his meeting with the Saudi minister, Minister Qoumas was accompanied by Director General of Hajj and Umrah Organization Hilman Latief, Indonesian Ambassador to Saudi Arabia Abdul Aziz, Naib Amirul Hajj Muhammad Hilal Al Aidid, Secretary of Amirul Hajj Ali Bahar, and Consul for Hajj at the Indonesian Consulate General in Jeddah Nasrullah Jasam.

Qoumas also noted that the Government of Saudi Arabia will begin to open services for Umrah pilgrims on July 14, 2022.

After two years of restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic, this year, Saudi Arabia allowed one million international pilgrims to perform the Hajj pilgrimage. Indonesia was allotted a quota of 100,051 for the pilgrimage.

Although it permitted foreign pilgrims to perform Hajj this year, Saudi Arabia laid down two conditions for them, with the first being that the maximum permissible age was 65 years and they were required to take the full dose of any COVID-19 vaccine approved by the Saudi Health Ministry.

Under the second condition, pilgrims traveling from abroad were required to carry a certificate showing a negative PCR result, with the test taken no more than 72 hours prior to departure.

Source: Antara News