Jakarta. President Prabowo Subianto flew to Saudi Arabia on Tuesday to meet Saudi Prime Minister and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) in his first-ever state visit to the Middle Eastern nation.

“The visit aims to deepen cooperation in strategic sectors such as trade, investment, energy security, as well as the improvement of hajj and umrah services for our pilgrims,” the Indonesian Foreign Affairs Ministry wrote in its press statement.

“[The two leaders] will also discuss the latest regional and global matters, especially the developments in the Middle East,” the ministry said, alluding to the Iran-Israel war.

In October 2023, both countries agreed to form the so-called Supreme Coordination Council in a bid to strengthen ties. The Foreign Ministry said that the upcoming talks with MBS would take place within the council’s framework.

“The upcoming meeting will result in some memoranda of understanding (MoUs), be it between governments or businesses,” the ministry said, without going into details on the deals.

Over 87 percent of Indonesians identify as Muslims. The archipelagic country sent 221,000 individuals to go on the major Islamic pilgrimage of hajj this year. Indonesia also reported that around 1.5 million of its citizens flew to Mecca to perform the umrah annually. Umrah is a non-mandatory, lesser pilgrimage that Muslims may perform at any time of the year.

A few months ago, Prabowo had unveiled plans to establish an “Indonesian village” near Masjid al-Haram or the Great Mosque of Mecca to accommodate its pilgrims.

Indonesia reported that its trade with Saudi Arabia had totaled nearly $2.3 billion in the first four months of 2025. Indonesia’s exports had grown to almost $1.3 billion over the said period, creating a surplus of $262.2 million. Jakarta had been running deficits with Riyadh over the past few years. Its negative trade balance even amounted to about $1.5 billion in 2024.

Statistics showed that Saudi Arabia was Indonesia’s fourteenth-largest foreign investor in the first quarter of 2025, as their investments reached nearly $99.2 million.

Prabowo's Saudi trip will last until Thursday.

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