Putri Safira Pitaloka, Jakarta – Indonesia's Religious Affairs Minister Yaqut Cholil Qoumas inked an agreement on the country's hajj quota for 2023 which was increased to 221,000. The signing of the deal held in Jeddah was also approved by Saudi Arabia's Minister of Hajj and Umrah Tawfiq F Al Rabiah.

According to the ministry's official page kemenag.go.id, the quota of 221,000 is divided into regular, special, and officer categories.

"The quota consists of 203,320 regular pilgrims and 17,680 special pilgrims. As for officers, we get 4,200 quotas this year," he said in Jeddah, on Sunday, January 8, 2023.

Gus Men, the minister's familiar name, hoped that Indonesia would get an additional quota given the long queues for the hajj pilgrimage.

On the other hand, Minister Tawfiq claimed that he was pleased to be able to increase the haj quota for Indonesia and would always prioritize Indonesia in obtaining the quota for the special hajj pilgrimage because everyone was looking forward to performing the hajj pilgrimage under normal conditions after the COVID-19 pandemic.

Minister Yaqut also said that they both discussed the age requirement for hajj pilgrims. "According to the agreement, there is no age limit for pilgrims this year. This means that pilgrims over 65 years of age can also go on pilgrimage this year," he said.

Source: https://en.tempo.co/read/1677672/indonesias-hajj-quota-increased-to-221000-in-202