TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Minister of Religious Affairs Nasaruddin Umar said that the plan to build the Indonesian hajj village in Saudi Arabia was one of the main topics of discussion between President Prabowo Subianto and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) at Al-Salam Palace, Jeddah, on Wednesday, July 2, 2025. Nasaruddin said that the two leaders discussed ways to strengthen the two countries' bilateral relations.

"The discussions included education and the hajj village. Alhamdulillah, Prince MBS fully supports the realization of the Indonesian Hajj Village as soon as possible," Nasaruddin said, as quoted from the official statement of the Ministry of Religious Affairs on Thursday, July 3, 2025.

Nasaruddin said he accompanied Prabowo to begin technical discussions with several parties in Saudi Arabia regarding the construction of the Hajj Village. The Grand Imam of Istiqlal Mosque is awaiting President Prabowo's instructions to realize the plan for the Indonesian Hajj Village.

The idea of a hajj village in the Holy Land was initially proposed by Deputy Minister of Religious Affairs Romo Muhammad Syafi'i in November 2024. According to Syafi'i, the large number of Indonesian Umrah and Hajj pilgrims led Prabowo to decide to build the Hajj Village. Syafi'i believes that the hajj village will facilitate services for Indonesian Hajj pilgrims, whose number reaches hundreds of thousands.

In a separate statement, Syafi'i said that the hajj village is planned to be built on a 50-hectare land in Jabal Umar.

"The 50-hectare area in Jabal Umar is a 100-year concession from the Saudi Arabian Kingdom to Indonesia," Romo said at a National Seminar with the theme "Challenges of Investment and Optimization of Hajj Fund Management" held in Jakarta on December 3, 2024.

Chairperson of the Indonesian House of Commission VIII, Marwan Dasopang, welcomed the idea. Nevertheless, he said that constructing the hajj village is not easy. The NasDem Party politician believes that the Indonesian government must carefully discuss this matter with the Saudi Arabian government.

"Building a hajj village is not easy because of its location in Saudi Arabia. Discussing it must be done carefully to avoid misperceptions by the country involved," he said in Jakarta on January 9, 2025.

Head of the Hajj Organizer (BP), Mochamad Irfan Yusuf, said that the government will form a team to study the possibilities of cooperation between Saudi Arabia and Indonesia. He made this statement in a press release in Jeddah on Thursday, July 3, 2025, quoted by Antara.

Editor's Choice: Prabowo to Form Special Team for Indonesian Village Project in Mecca

Click here to get the latest news updates from Tempo on Google News