JAKARTA — Saudi Arabia's Ambassador to Indonesia Issam Al-Thaqafi hoped that Indonesia would resume sending domestic workers to the Kingdom in the near future and that is after a hiatus of 8 years. "The concerned ministries are striving to resolve this issue as soon as possible. The two countries had concluded earlier an agreement for the resumption of hiring Indonesian domestic help but the outbreak of coronavirus pandemic has delayed its implementation," he said while noting that the agreement stipulates that 300 recruitment companies will be involved in the recruitment process. Speaking to Okaz/Saudi Gazette, he said that Saudi Arabia provides 500 scholarships for Indonesian students to enroll in various Saudi universities in a year. He said that there are limited numbers of Saudi scholarship students in Indonesia. "We are currently working on increasing the Saudi centers in the four Indonesian universities, and we are also working to expand cultural exchange with these universities," he said. According to the ambassador, the volume of trade exchange between the two countries does not reach the level of the hopes and aspirations of the leaderships of the two countries. "Indonesia receives between 200000 and 250,000 Saudi tourists in a year and all of them receive the attention and care from the Saudi embassy, and its Saudi Affairs Department," he said. Al-Thaqafi also referred to the problem of some Saudis' marriage of Indonesian women after obtaining permission from the authorities while some others without any permission. He described this as one of the thorny issues facing the Saudi embassy in Indonesia. "The embassy is seeking to coordinate with the Indonesian authorities to address marriages outside the scope of the two countries' permits. The problem of these marriages does not stop at the spouses, but rather reaches out to their children," he added. It is noteworthy that Indonesia suspended sending housemaids to Saudi Arabia and other countries in the region in 2011 following an execution of a housemaid who was convicted of killing her Saudi employer. Later, Indonesia agreed with the Kingdom and other Middle Eastern countries to send domestic workers but the outbreak of coronavirus has delayed their arrival.
