JAKARTA - The Indonesian government plans to send 600,000 Indonesian Migrant Workers (PMI) to Saudi Arabia, ending a moratorium that has been in place for almost 10 years.

President Prabowo Subianto approved the plan, after meeting with Indonesian Migrant Workers Protection Minister Abdul Kadir Karding at the State Palace over the weekend.

Prabowo, said Abdul Kadir, also supports the plan because it has the potential to increase the country's foreign exchange. ‘The foreign exchange that might come in from there is IDR 31 trillion.’

Abdul Kadir said the plan is a solution to the moratorium policy, which has kept more than 20,000 migrant workers from leaving for Saudi Arabia illegally since 2015.

He added that Saudi Arabia has promised around 600,000 jobs, consisting of 400,000 domestic jobs and 200-250,000 formal workers.

The governments of Indonesia and Saudi Arabia have scheduled the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) in Jeddah this month. The dispatch of migrant workers will begin no later than June 2025. (KR/LM)