Indonesia to resume sending migrant workers to Saudi Arabia

JAKARTA, March 14 (Xinhua) -- Indonesia announced on Friday that it will resume sending migrant workers to Saudi Arabia after President Prabowo Subianto lifted the country's 2015 moratorium on worker placement.

Minister of Migrant Worker Protection Abdul Kadir Karding said that Saudi Arabia currently requires approximately 600,000 Indonesian workers, including around 400,000 domestic workers and 200,000 formal workers.

To formalize the reopening, Indonesia and Saudi Arabia will soon sign a memorandum of understanding in Jeddah. The first batch of migrant workers is expected to depart by June 2025, with quotas to be adjusted by the Indonesian government.

"The president has approved this decision and instructed us to prepare a comprehensive training and placement scheme. We will submit a follow-up report on our plans," Karding said.

Indonesia had suspended migrant worker placements to Saudi Arabia since 2015 due to widespread cases of illegal recruitment, which led to the trafficking of at least 25,000 workers annually. ■