Indonesian workers are in great demand in many countries, such as, Taiwan, Hong Kong, China and Malaysia. In these countries, the workers are paid higher salaries than in Gulf countries and some Arab states, Indonesian Consul General in Jeddah, Gatot Abdullah Mansyur, has said. In an interview with Okaz on Friday, the Consul General said the introduction of a new electronic passport system and the small number of employees in the passports department back home were among the reasons delaying the arrival of Indonesian workers in the Kingdom. He said 74,000 work visas have been issued for the Kingdom and other Arab countries. Mansyur said a new commission has been established with the task of facilitating the travel of domestic helpers bound for Arab countries. This commission will process all the travel formalities. The Consul General said 39 percent of the problems between housemaids and their sponsors in the Kingdom were solved amicably through friendly means and through recruitment offices. The rest were dealt with through other formal channels like police, labor offices, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and courts. These channels were approached only after all conciliatory efforts were exhausted. He said most of the maids who have approached the consulate with their grievances complain about an inordinate delay in the payment of their wages. The Consul General said his country has enjoyed excellent relations with the Kingdom since 1945. “Our relations are good in all aspects of politics, economy and culture. The two countries have similar positions with regard to different Islamic and international political issues,” he said. The good relations were manifested in the humanitarian aid by the Kingdom and other Arab countries at the time of Sumatra's tsunami. Saudi government aid reached $10 million and the general public donated about $83 million. The Saudi charitable campaign also handled a number of infrastructure projects in Indonesia, he said. The Consul General appreciated King Abdullah's support to the Kafalah Program adopted by the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) to take care of 10,000 orphans of tsunami victims. Commenting on the growing business ties between the two countries, Mansyur said Saudi investments in Indonesia are worth $28 billion. Last year alone, they reached $13 million in the fields of transportation, communication and agriculture. Mansyur said high oil prices would have a positive effect on the Kingdom's economy. He expects Saudi investments in Indonesia to increase in the future. The Consul General said economic ties between his country and Saudi Arabia have seen a steady growth especially after the setting up of the Saudi-Indonesian Joint Committee. In 2007, Saudi exports to Indonesia reached $3.3 billion, as imports from Indonesia reached $944 million. Regarding the reason for the difference in the size of the commercial exchange between the two countries, he said it was because Indonesia imports energy materials like oil and natural gas, which constitute 66% of the Saudi exports to his country. He said 11,891 Saudi tourists came to Indonesia between January and May 2008, up by 63 percent compared to last year. He pointed out that a statement by the Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 2008 showed that there are 450,000 Indonesian workers in the Kingdom. A great majority of these workers are employed as house helpers, he said. On the most prominent projects involving the two countries, Mansyur said a Saudi company is seeking to invest $4.3 billion in the agricultural domain, using 500,000 hectares of land. – Okaz __
