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Prabowo expects Saudi King's visit to bring more investment, higher haj quota
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Windowside greetings -- Gerindra Party chairman Prabowo Subianto salutes residents after he attended a campaign event in South Tambun, East Cakung, Jakarta, on Jan.31. (Antara/Atika Fauziyyah)
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pposition leader Prabowo Subianto said on Thursday that he expected the Saudi King's visit would bring in more commercial investments and raise the haj quota to cut the long waiting lines Indonesian Muslims face if they want to complete the pilgrimage.
"Many [Indonesian Muslims] must wait 20 years or more for their turn to complete the haj, even though we have the largest Muslim population in the world," Prabowo said after attending the deluxe welcome event for King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud at the House of Representatives.
(Read also: King Salman gives 2-minute speech at House)
The Gerindra Party chairman, who was also President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo’s contender in the 2014 election, said he expected the oil-rich country to make more investment deals with Indonesia.
President Jokowi and King Salman witnessed on Wednesday the signing of 11 memorandums of understanding (MoUs), with only one agreement signed by the Saudi Fund Contribution and the Finance Ministry bearing details of the kingdom agreeing to spend $1 billion to finance various development projects in Indonesia.
Indonesia's haj quota has returned to the normal annual figure of 211,000 this year after a 20 percent cut in 2013 due to the renovation of the Masjidil Haram grand mosque in Saudi Arabia.
The Saudi Arabian government has also granted an additional 10,000 seats, which will allow 221,000 Indonesians to travel to Mecca for the pilgrimage. (dan)
