Remarks of President of the Republic of Indonesia at the Inauguration of Special Hajj and Umrah Terminal, at the Terminal 2F of Soekarno-Hatta International Airport, Tangerang City, Banten Province, May 4, 2025

Bismillahirrahmanirrahim,

Assalamu’alaikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh.

Good afternoon,

May peace be upon us all.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Distinguished Ministers, Deputy Ministers, Heads and Deputy Heads of Government Institutions of the Red and White Cabinet, Coordinating Minister for Infrastructure and Regional Development Affairs Agus Harimurti Yudhoyono, Minister of Transportation Dudy Purwagandhi, Minister of Religious Affairs KH Nasaruddin Umar, Minister of State-owned Enterprises Erick Thohir, Minister of Investment and Downstreaming/Head of the Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM) and CEO of Danantara Rosan Roeslani, Minister of Immigration and Corrections Agus Andrianto, Minister of Defense Lieutenant General (Ret.) Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin in attendance, Minister of State Secretary Prasetyo Hadi, I will call check your attendances, Cabinet Secretary Teddy Indra Wijaya, Special Advisor to the President for Hajj Prof. Muhadjir Effendy, Head of Hajj Organizing Agency Mochamad Irfan Yusuf and the Deputy Head, Governor of Banten Andra Soni;

Honorable Your Excellency Ambassador of Saudi Arabia Faisal bin Abdullah Amodi, President Directors of SOEs, among others, President Director of Garuda InJourney Holding, InJourney Aviation Services, and AirNav.

Distinguished Guests, Press, and Media Partners in attendance,

First and foremost, let us offer our highest praise and gratitude to Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala, the Almighty God, for granting us blessings and good health, allowing us to be present at this auspicious occasion, the Inauguration of the Special Hajj and Umrah Terminal, at the Terminal 2F of Soekarno-Hatta International Airport.

Allow me to deliver my highest appreciation to all policies made and efforts taken by all parties involved in this revitalization project, particularly to Minister of SOEs, Holding InJourney Airport, PT Angkasa Pura II, Minister of Transportation, and Danantara Indonesia, as well as other relevant parties, who have worked hard to prepare and bring about the revitalization that we are inaugurating today.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Annually, there are around 2 million hajj and umrah pilgrims from Indonesia, around 2.2 million pilgrims. During the peak of hajj season as of today, we have 12,000 pilgrims per day. The number is huge. Probably, we have the largest number of hajj and umrah pilgrims compared to other countries.

Taking that into consideration, the Government certainly wants to provide the best services to the pilgrims. We are also aware that many of our pilgrims are elderly, and therefore must be properly cared for.

Distinguished Guests,

We understand that many of our hajj pilgrims have saved diligently over the years and, in many cases. waited a long time to undertake this sacred journey. For this reason, the Government, especially under my leadership, is fully committed to delivering the highest standard of service. We are also making every effort to reduce the cost of hajj as much as possible. Therefore, I am calling on the Minister of Religious Affairs, the Head of the Hajj Organizing Agency, and the President’s Special Advisor for Hajj to coordinate, collaborate, and find concrete solutions to bring down the overall cost of hajj.

I also have made a request to meet with the leadership of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia through which I will discuss Indonesia’s intention, which I previously conveyed to the Crown Prince of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Prince Mohammed bin Salman. During my recent meeting with him, I had expressed Indonesia’s intention to build an “Indonesian village” in the Holy Land, near Masjid al-Haram. His response at that time was quite positive. He told me to plan it properly and technically.

As I recall, Minister of Religious Affairs also made a visit. We will visit them as soon as possible. If the proposal is approved by Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, we hope we will have our own village there and it will also increase the efficiency of the Hajj travel budget. I also asked national carrier Garuda Indonesia to increase efficiency and curb unnecessary costs. The efficiency will lead to lower hajj costs which remains one of our objectives.

Alhamdulillah, we had cut hajj cost by Rp4,000,000 for this year’s hajj and has already been enjoyed by 203,000 pilgrims. Nevertheless, I want the cost to be reduced even further because I am still not satisfied yet. We must aim for the lowest possible cost, even lower than Malaysia’s. I think we can make it possible. What do you think, Head of the Hajj Organizing Agency? Are you ready? Minister of Religious Affairs? InshaAllah? You are being watched, you know.

Once again, congratulations.

We, the Indonesian nations, should be proud of these excellent, modern, spacious, and comfortable facilities. These facilities also have remarkable capacity, accommodating 94 million of people annually. I guess this is a remarkable achievement.

Once again, congratulations. And thus, today I have the great honor of officially inaugurating the Special Hajj and Umrah Terminal at the Terminal 2F of Soekarno-Hatta International Airport.

I thank you.

Wassalamu’alaikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh. (RAS/EP)