JAKARTA: Indonesia’s National Alms Agency is hoping for more collaboration in education and humanitarian programs with the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center to promote the welfare of Indonesians, the organization’s top official said on Monday.  

BAZNAS, a government agency responsible for zakat and other Islamic social funds in Indonesia, has experience in working with various international aid agencies, including the UN agency for Palestinian refugees UNRWA and UNICEF.  

KSrelief partnered with BAZNAS in 2022 to support Indonesians in need with food aid. This year, the Saudi aid agency also distributed food assistance in 22 Indonesian districts and cities during Ramadan. 

Saidah Sakwan, who heads the distribution and utilization department in BAZNAS, told Arab News that Saudi cooperation is always welcome.  

“BAZNAS is hoping that this cooperation will continue and develop further on other programs for the sake of promoting the welfare of Muslims and other people in the world,” she said. 

With nearly 10 percent of the Indonesian population, or about 26 million people, living below the national poverty line, support from aid agencies is often crucial.  

“The aid distributed by KSrelief means a lot for them to fulfill their daily needs,” Sakwan said, adding that BAZNAS is in talks with KSrelief for an education program for tens of thousands of Indonesian orphans.  

She was part of a high-level BAZNAS delegation visiting KSrelief headquarters in Riyadh in May to discuss ways to advance collaboration.  

“In the future, BAZNAS hopes to continue synergizing with KSrelief to increase cooperation for the public through education and humanitarian programs, as well as poverty alleviation,” Sakwan said.   

“Relations between Saudi Arabia and Indonesia continue to develop. Should this continue positively, it will bring many benefits for the public.”