Jakarta – Vice President Ma’ruf Amin met the invitation of Ambassador of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to the Republic of Indonesia Faisal Abdullah Al-Amudi in Jakarta, on Tuesday (6/6/2023).
Vice President’s Spokesperson Masduki Baidlowi said that the Saudi Ambassador hopes that Indonesian entrepreneurs will invest in tourist destinations there. The tourist areas in question include Medina, Makkah, Jeddah, Riyadh, or new tourist destinations that are being developed by the Government of Saudi Arabia.
“What is even more important, he [Saudi Ambassador] said, is that in the new tourist destinations, for example in the northern area of Medina, there are many interesting historical places such as Mada’in and various places. It is hoped that Indonesian investors can come there. That’s what the Saudi Ambassador talked about,” Masduki Baidlowi was quoted as saying in a press release.
Masduki added, Ambassador Faisal also revealed, although the number of Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between Saudi Arabia and Indonesia was recorded quite a lot, but only a few could be realized for now.
The MoU, he continued, touches on various fields, such as health, culture, development of small and medium enterprises, science and higher education, Islamic affairs, marine and fisheries, and crime eradication.
Therefore, said Masduki, Ambassador Faisal hopes that the agreement can be realized immediately in an effort to strengthen investment cooperation between the two countries.
“So far, Saudi Arabia’s relationship with China is very good, investment is also good. Likewise, Indonesia’s relationship with China is also very good. If investment between Indonesia and China is good, Saudi Arabia’s investment with China is good, but why is investment between Saudi Arabia and Indonesia not,” Masduki quoted Ambassador Faisal as saying.
In response to this, Masduki explained that the Vice President responded positively to Ambassador Faisal’s wishes and his party will hold a special meeting with various relevant ministries / agencies, including the Indonesian Migrant Workers Protection Agency (BP2MI), in order to encourage better economic cooperation, not only the relationship that has been running so far at the level of people to people relations and relations in the Hajj / Umrah pilgrimage.
“The reasons will be sought, the background, and will be parsed so that there is a new policy going forward and so that investment between Saudi Arabia and Indonesia can run well,” he said.
However, Masduki said, the Vice President still asked for a reciprocal relationship between the two countries, so that Saudi businessmen also need to be encouraged to invest in Indonesia.
“The Vice President also hopes for reciprocity, so that the Government of Saudi Arabia can also encourage its businessmen, investors to also be able to invest here, especially in fields related to tourism and others. That is also the hope of the Vice President,” he concluded.
