Saudi Arabia will host nearly 1,000 Palestinian pilgrims this year under the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Haj Visitors Programme.
Most of them are relatives and family members of those who have been martyred, Arab News reported yesterday.
Deputy Chief of the Haj visitors programme Zaid al-Dakan recently met Palestine Haj Committee chief Abdul Aziz al-Saleh, along with Egyptian embassy’s Abdel Hadi al-Omari and Abdul Jabbar al-Husami, head of the Saudi Arabian Airlines (Saudia) in Egypt.
The visitors programme directorate has mandated early training as a way to provide best services to the pilgrims in co-ordination with the authorities concerned. “This will ensure that all pilgrims obtain the required visas from the Saudi embassy in Egypt and are supplied with return travel tickets and reservations through Saudia,” al-Dakan was quoted as saying in local media.
During the meeting, a review of events during the previous year and a documentary film made by the directorate was shown, featuring the pilgrimage’s most prominent events and recommendations for the coming year.
Al-Dakan thanked the officials at the Saudi embassy as well as the Saudia staff in Egypt for their efforts. He hailed the kingdom’s role in providing pilgrimage services to the Palestinians.