"So, I am grateful that I was able to agree on several health cooperation during discussion with Health Minister Budi (Gunadi Sadikin)," he said during a media briefing at the residence of the Saudi Arabian Ambassador to Indonesia here on Monday.
Al-Jalajel informed that the discussion covered several issues and topics related to health, including virtual health applications and other areas related to health specifically.
During his visit to the Ministry of Health, he also facilitated four memorandums of understanding between Saudi Arabian health company Health Holding Company and three Indonesian universities.
The varsities are Gadjah Mada University (UGM), Muhammadiyah University of Yogyakarta (UMY), and Nahdlatul Ulama University of Surabaya (UNUSA).
The MoUs are related to strengthening the capacity of human resources (HR) in the health sector, including through the exchange of health workers and exchange of knowledge.
Regarding training cooperation for Indonesian health workers in Saudi Arabia, the Saudi minister held meetings with Manpower Minister Yassierli and Minister of Protection of Indonesian Migrant Workers (P2MI), Abdul Kadir Karding, to discuss employment issues in the health sector.
"Alhamdulillah, we discussed several issues related to employment," the minister said.
He added that currently, there are 98 Indonesian nurses working in Saudi Arabia.
Through the agreement to strengthen human resource capacity, it is hoped that more Indonesian health workers will take part in training and work in Saudi Arabia, he said.
To implement this cooperation, Saudi Arabia is also encouraging increased language capacity so that Indonesian health workers can take part in training or work optimally.
During his visit, Al-Jalajel also met with chairperson of the Regional Representative Council (DPD), Sultan Bachtiar Najamudin, to discuss issues related to health services for the people of the two countries.
Najamudin said that he was pleased with the discussion and voiced support for health sector cooperation between Indonesia and Saudi Arabia.
"We are certainly very happy. From our perspective, we will definitely support what is good for the nation," he added.
Related news: Ministry discusses PMI placement with Saudi Arabia's Musaned
Related news: Saudi must guarantee higher pay, protection of Indonesian workers
Translator: Katriana
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
Copyright © ANTARA 2025
