By Amadu Kamil Sanah
Accra, Jan. 28, GNA – Dr. Abdulfattah Suleiman Mashat, the Deputy Minister of Hajj and Umurah of the Royal Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has signed a number of agreements with countries that will participate in this year Hajj and UmurahPilgrimage.
The signing ceremony was done on the sideline of the Hajj and Umurah Services Conference and Exhibition (Hajj Expo 2023) upon receiving the delegations from the various participating countries.
The 2023 Hajj and Umurah Conference was the largest gathering and event related to Hajj and Umrah, as it brought together over 57 countries with more than 60,000 participants, and over 70 speakers and experts wirh more than 200 companies specialized in the Hajj and Umrah sector.
A statement signed by Meshal Alrogi, the Saudi Arabian Ambassador to Ghana and copied to the Ghana News Agency said, the conference was a space for exchanging visions, ideas, innovations and experiences, and an opportunity for countries to be present to sign their agreements and make arrangements of the affairs of their citizens in advance for the Hajj and Umrah seasons which will reflect in the comfort of pilgrims and the facilitation of their affairs.
It said participants of the four-days conference participated in 40 workshops and nine main sessions to discussed several topics that would contribute to developing the experience of pilgrims, employing digital solutions, and working to build an integrated and sustainable systems to enhance the services provided, and achieve the goals of the Saudi Kingdom’s Vision 2030.
The statement added that the agreements come in the frame of the developmental procedures offered by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to Hajj and Umrah pilgrims a across the globe.
It said that Ghana’s delegation led by Alhaji Farouk Hamza was not left out among the countries the Deputy Minister signed the agreements with, for the arrangements of the Hajj and Umrah season 1444 AH services including the allocation of Quota and Port and Means of Arrival and Departures into the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
The statement said the agreement also includes the organizational instructions that would enhance the safety and comfort of pilgrims from the moment of preparation for this journey of a lifetime until their departure from the Saudi Kingdom.
It said: “All these efforts come within the framework of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s endeavor to provide distinguished services to the pilgrims, and work to enrich their experience at all levels of logistics, security, technology, as well as culture and knowledge, through the Programme of pilgrims and the concerted efforts of all government sectors, the private sector, entrepreneurs and partners, from around the world.”
GNA