The deal was finalized in a memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed during a meeting between Religious Affairs Minister Yaqut Cholil Qoumas and Saudi Haj and Umrah Minister Tawfiq Al Rabiah in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, on Sunday.

“I have signed the haj agreement with the Saudi haj minister. Indonesia’s haj quota this year will be 221,000 pilgrims […] consisting of 203,320 regular pilgrims and 17,680 special pilgrims,” Yaqut said in a statement.

[https://kemenag.go.id/read/kuota-haji-2023-sebanyak-221-ribu-tidak-ada-pembatasan-usia]

Present at the meeting was Ashabul Kahfi, chairman of House of Representatives Commission VIII overseeing social affairs; the Indonesian ministry’​​s haj and umrah director general, Hilman Latief; and the head of the Haj Financial Management Agency (BPKH), Fadlul Imansyah.

Despite returning to the pre-COVID-19 quota, Yaqut said the government was still lobbying the Saudis to bump up Indonesia’s quota to accommodate the long waiting list of Indonesian pilgrim hopefuls.

In an official response, Minister Al Rabiah said the Arab kingdom was prioritizing the safety and comfort of all pilgrims but that it would be happy to grant Indonesia more places when the right moment arose.

“But I can say that Indonesia will be the top priority to get additional quotas,” he said in a statement. “There might be other countries that will reduce their numbers this year. If it so happens, [their quota] can be given to Indonesia.”

In addition to reinstating haj quotas, Saudi Arabia has also removed the maximum age restriction of 65 years for pilgrims, previously imposed in response to COVID-19 concerns.

This year, participating countries will also be able to negotiate directly with six appointed Saudi Arabian companies that will facilitate the pilgrimage.

“This way, [countries] will get an opportunity to [negotiate] for the best price. I also urge any agreement to be made in detail so that it can be used as a reference [in case of contract violations],” Al Rabiah explained.

Indonesian Muslims hoping to perform the haj must wait 20 years on average because of the Saudi quota system.

In 2019, the last year before the pandemic struck, some 2.6 million people performed the haj.

About 221,000 Indonesian pilgrims were set to perform the pilgrimage in 2020, before the annual state-led program was canceled when Saudi Arabia closed its doors to pilgrims in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Riyadh gradually began welcoming fully vaccinated foreign pilgrims in August 2021, some 18 months after it first closed off its borders, and some Indonesians have been able to go on umrah (minor haj) since December 2021.

In 2022, Indonesia sent just over 100,000 pilgrims to Saudi Arabia under strict guidelines. They were required to be fully vaccinated and present negative polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests taken at most three days before their departure.

Read also: Thousands of Indonesians arrive in Saudi Arabia for haj

The Saudi haj ministry said in a tweet that the kingdom, home to Islam's holiest sites in Mecca and Medina, will impose no virus restrictions for this season.

Haj season is set to begin on June 26 this year.

Over the years, the kingdom has spent billions of dollars on security for the pilgrimage, one of the world’s biggest religious gatherings.

The haj is a major source of income for the Saudi government, as worshippers pay for lodging, transportation, gifts and entrance fees. Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s economic reform plan aims to increase umrah and haj capacity to 30 million pilgrims annually and to generate 50 billion riyals ($13.32 billion) in revenue by 2030.

Before the pandemic, some 19 million people took part in the umrah annually, another form of pilgrimage to Mecca, which, unlike the haj, can be carried out at any time of the year.