The bilateral cooperation between the Indonesian and Saudi Arabian governments has been going on for a long time, especially cooperation in the field of manpower, Manpower Minister Ida Fauziyah said here on Tuesday.
The manpower ministers of the two countries had forged an agreement on the placement and protection of Indonesian migrant workers in 2014, she explained.
"Regarding the placement and protection of Indonesian migrant workers in Saudi Arabia, the two countries have implemented the SPSK," she noted while receiving a visit from Ambassador of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to Indonesia Faisal Abdulah H. Amodi.
"Thus, data collection of Indonesian migrant workers in the domestic sector can be managed properly through an online system," she added.
According to Fauziyah, the Indonesian government is currently exploring cooperation with Takamol for Business Services, an enterprise owned by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, which has been tasked with organizing the Skills Verification Program (SVP).
She explained that SVP is a program for verifying the competence of skilled foreign workers looking to work in Saudi Arabia by improving the quality of professional workers through competency tests in the workers' countries of origin that are based on the standards of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
"The program is planned to be implemented by the government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in eight countries, namely Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, the Philippines, Egypt, Indonesia, and Thailand," she said.
During the ambassador’s visit on Tuesday, she also welcomed the plan for opening a Labor Attaché Office at the Royal Embassy of Saudi Arabia in Jakarta.
She expressed the hope that the manpower attaché would work with her ministry in monitoring the cooperation programs agreed upon by the two countries.
It is also hoped that the cooperation between Indonesia and Saudi Arabia will continue to improve, she said.
"I believe, with support from Ambassador Abdulah H. Amodi, cooperation, especially in the field of manpower, can present benefits to the two countries," she remarked.
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Translator: Zubi Mahrofi, Raka Adji
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
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