The Indonesian government and the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on the placement and protection of the Indonesian migrant workers employed in Jordan.

The MOU was signed by Indonesian Minister of Manpower Erman Suparno and Jordan Minister of Manpower Gazi Hamdallah Shbaikat at Nusa Dua Beach Hotel on Saturday night.

"We really hope the MOU will strengthen our relations and will become a strong ground for the protection of Indonesian migrant workers in Jordan," Minister Suparno said.

The MOU contains a number of significant points including the establishment of a special committee that deals with any labor disputes.

The committee will be set up at the Indonesian Embassy in Jordan. "The committee will implement the MOU to protect and to solve any possible problems involving our migrant workers there *in Jordan*," the minister added.

Previously, the two countries had signed another MOU in 2001 focusing more on both workers formal and domestic sectors. The newest MOU will focus more on informal and domestic sector, the minister said. Currently, there are 30,000 Indonesians working in formal and informal sectors in Jordan.

"Around 90 percent of them work as domestic helpers," explained Indonesian Ambassador to Jordan Zainulbahar Noor, who was also present at the MOU signing.

The majority of Indonesian migrant workers are facing visa problems, the ambassador explained.

The affected migrant workers would be deported to Indonesia by the end of this month *June*.

"With the signing of this MOU, such problems could be eliminated," Noor added.

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