The Religious Affairs Ministry is currently preparing a road map for the management of drugs and food during Hajj and Umrah implementation with the Food and Drug Supervisory Agency (BPOM).
“It is important for us to properly design a road map for cooperation and BPOM’s involvement in the Indonesian Hajj ecosystem. I do not think we have the road map (so far),” the ministry’s director general of Hajj and Umrah implementation, Hilman Latief, informed in a written statement received here on Friday.
The quantum of the food and drug consumption budget for pilgrims at each pilgrimage should become a common concern in the context of strengthening the Hajj and Umrah ecosystems, he added.
According to him, the consumption budget this year reached 30–35 percent of the total budget. Given this figure, the ministry is seeking to encourage Indonesian entrepreneurs to get involved in the ecosystem.
“This has entered our radar. This is included in our domestic purchase. This must be a joint concern of related elements to encourage our micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) and Indonesian entrepreneurs to get involved in the (procurement for the) pilgrims’ (food and medicine) consumption during the pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia,” he informed.
In order to strengthen the ecosystem, the Religious Affairs Ministry has inked a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with several parties, including the Ministry of Cooperatives and SMEs, the Ministry of Trade, and the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin).
“Including coordination with the Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries and various companies, both domestic and foreign,” Latief added.
Meanwhile, BPOM’s main secretary, Rita Mahyona, lauded the Ministry of Religious Affairs’ move to involve BPOM in the management of medicines and food for the pilgrimage.
“We have also held meetings with the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Religious Affairs to discuss the program, starting from planning, carrying out the pilgrimage, and after organizing the pilgrimage. We want to contribute to medicine and food for pilgrims in Saudi Arabia,” Mahyona added.
Source: Antara News