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resident Joko '€œJokowi'€ Widodo struck the first deal of his Middle East tour on Sunday, the Saudi Arabian government approving a proposal to increase Indonesia'€™s haj quota by 10,000, starting next year.

Jokowi said Prince Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud had taken just minutes to agree to the proposal during a regional meeting.

'€œSaudi Religious Affairs Minister Muhamad Ali Sheikh approached me not long afterwards to tell me of the approval,'€ Jokowi said via his official Facebook account on Sunday.

Indonesia, the largest sender of haj pilgrims to the holy land, has seen its annual quota cut by 20 percent since 2013, down from 211,000 to the current 168,000 places after the Kingdom started massive construction on Mecca'€™s Grand Mosque, causing the waiting list to extend to 2 million faithful.

'€œThe larger quota is very important, although we want to return to the previous annual figure of 211,000 pilgrims. I have ordered improvements to haj services and I no longer want to hear of any mismanagement. I emphasize that there must be no illegal levies or corruption in the haj program anymore,'€ Jokowi added.

The Religious Affairs Ministry made headlines in 2014 when the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) named then minister Suryadharma Ali a suspect for embezzling haj funds and misusing haj places by distributing them to those not on the waiting list.

Under current Minister Lukman Hakim Saifuddin, though, the once-notorious ministry has seen better haj management.

Meanwhile, on Saturday, Prince Salman awarded Jokowi with the King Abdulaziz Medal at the Al-Salam Diwan Malaki Palace in Jeddah, according to Cabinet Secretary Pramono Anung, who is accompanying Jokowi on the overseas visit.

The medal is traditionally bestowed upon every king or president of a friendly country who visits the kingdom.

'€œThe President is very grateful to the king of Saudi Arabia. It was an outstanding welcome party. The king is rarely seen picking up state guests at the airplane gate,'€ Pramono said on the sidelines of Jokowi'€™s meetings with Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) secretary-general Iyad Amin Madani and Islamic Development Bank (IDB) president Ahmad Mohamed Ali Al-Madani.

On Saturday evening, Jokowi attended a meeting at the Crowne Plaza Hotel with Saudi and Indonesian businesspeople, also receiving courtesy visits from several Saudi ministers, including the ministers of finance, foreign affairs and economics.

According to information published by the State Secretariat, Jokowi, who arrived in Jeddah on Friday night, garnered Saudi commitments to further increase investment in Indonesia to US$10 billion, with Saudi-owned oil company Aramco planning to build refineries and storages facilities in Indonesia, as well as begin direct distribution.

Meanwhile, Foreign Minister Retno LP Marsudi said that Al-Madani, who said that '€œIndonesia is a role model where democracy and Islam can coexist peacefully'€, had expressed the OIC'€™s appreciation of Indonesia'€™s active role in the organization, including its proposal to establish a contact group to promote Islam as rahmatan lil alamin (blessing for the universe).

Indonesia made the proposal during events to mark the 60th anniversary of the Asia-Africa Conference in Bandung in April.

The OIC also formally invited Jokowi to attend three summits.

'€œIn November, there will be a summit on science and technology, while in January 2016 there is one on Palestine. In April 2016, there is a regular [OIC] summit,'€ Retno said.

Jokowi stated on Friday that his Middle East trip aimed to strengthen bilateral cooperation, with a focus on the economy, energy sustainability, protection for Indonesian citizens and strategic industries.

Saudi Arabia is Indonesia'€™s largest trade partner in the Middle East. The value of trade between the two countries reached $8.6 billion in 2014, with Saudi investment value in Indonesia reaching $29.3 million in the first half of 2015.
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