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The Indonesian government is ready to pull out some 35,000 Indonesians living in Middle Eastern countries if the US-led war in Iraq escalates, Coordinating Minister for Peoples' Welfare Jusuf Kalla stated in Jakarta on Saturday.
"The government is ready to evacuate Indonesians to a safer place, such as Saudi Arabia or some other countries that are relatively far from the war zone," Kalla said on the sidelines of a seminar over Islamic bank development.
He said Indonesian overseas contract workers, students and businessmen in countries around Iraq, such as Kuwait, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Jordan and Saudi Arabia, were safe.
However, the minister called on Indonesian citizens in the region to adhere to the security measures of their host countries.
"We hope that the war will be over within two days so that Indonesian workers will not need to leave their jobs there. In fact, in this kind of situation, they are badly needed (there)," Kalla told the national Antara news agency.
(Xinhua News Agency March 22, 2003)
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