Jeddah, MINA – More than 120,000 Indonesian pilgrims are participating in the Hajj this year through the Makkah Route initiative, as Saudi Arabia expands the flagship program to three cities in the country, Jakarta, Solo, and Surabaya.
Indonesia, the world’s largest Muslim-majority nation, annually sends the highest number of pilgrims to perform the Hajj, one of the five pillars of Islam. For 2025, Saudi Arabia has allocated a quota of 221,000 pilgrims for Indonesia.
According to Arab News, the Makkah Route initiative, launched in 2019 by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, streamlines pre-travel processes such as visa issuance, customs, and health checks, allowing pilgrims to avoid long delays upon arrival. This year, 122,156 Indonesian pilgrims are benefiting from the program.
“This is very helpful in sorting all of the pilgrims’ document requirements, like visa and passport, so that when the pilgrims reach Saudi Arabia, they simply head to their buses and go on their spiritual journey safely and comfortably,” said Mohammed Zain, Director of Domestic Hajj Services at the Indonesian Ministry of Religious Affairs.
Also Read: Thousands March in Athens Demanding End to Israeli Attacks on Gaza
The new Hajj and Umrah terminal at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport in Jakarta, inaugurated by President Prabowo Subianto earlier this month, is one of the main hubs for the initiative.
Saudi Arabia is also running the program in six other countries: Pakistan, Malaysia, Bangladesh, Morocco, Turkiye, and Cote d’Ivoire. Over 125,000 pilgrims have arrived in the Kingdom as of Tuesday.
Zain expressed hopes that the Makkah Route initiative would expand to even more Indonesian cities in the coming years to further enhance the quality of Hajj services. []
Mi’raj News Agency (MINA)
Also Read: France Signals Readiness for Further Sanctions on Israel Over Gaza Crisis
Mina Indonesia
Mina Arabic
Mina Sport