RIYADH, July 31 (NNN-BERNAMA) — The number of pilgrims who have so far arrived in Saudi Arabia to perform their haj rites from abroad through air, land and sea ports, as at Tuesday stood at 1,168,203, Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported, quoting statistics issued by the General Directorate of Passports.
The Directorate said that the number of pilgrims arriving by air stood at 1,095,584 pilgrims, by land 60,886 pilgrims and by the sea 11,733 pilgrims.
Meanwhile, Muammar Eusouffi from Bernama International News Service reported that Saudi Arabia’s King Salman Abdulaziz Al Saud had sponsored 20 Malaysian pilgrims to perform their haj under the 2019 Saudi King’s guests programme.
The annual programme is organised by the Saudi Ministry of Islamic Affairs, Da’wah and Guidance, and is personally financed by King Salman. The cost covers the pilgrims’ accommodation, flight tickets, meals as well as haj rites.
Saudi Ambassador to Malaysia, Mahmoud Hussien Saeed Qattan, said the Saudi government has succeeded in getting a large number of Muslims from across the globe to come together.
He also said that the Saudi government has extensive experience in running the programme, which has been conducted for more than 20 years.
“We will always work to improve the programme from time to time,” said the envoy to Bernama after an event celebrating the Saudi King’s Guest, here, on Tuesday.
The Malaysian pilgrims selected for this year’s programme include religious scholars and leaders, representatives from the government, academicians, and individuals from NGOs.
The group will depart for Jeddah from Kuala Lumpur International Airport on Aug 2 and will be in Saudi till Aug 17.
The selected Malaysian ‘guests’ will be among the 1,300 pilgrims from 72 countries under the programme.
King Salman has also invited 200 families of victims of the terrorist attacks in Christchurch, New Zealand, and 2,000 Yemeni military family members to perform the pilgrimage under the programme this year.
Saudi Arabia plans to accommodate up to 30 million haj and umrah pilgrims in the coming years based on Vision 2030 introduced by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
–NNN-BERNAMA