REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, MAKKAH -- Deputy Chairman of the Central Hajj Committee Prince Badr Bin Sultan chaired the meeting, discussing key issues related to the upcoming 1445H hajj season. It also conveyed the readiness to receive and serve the umrah, the lesser hajj, pilgrims.
The meeting was held to delve into the results of the opening discussions, related to the planning of the 1445H Hajj season. Discussions centered on the degree of readiness to receive and serve umrah pilgrims efficiently. Indonesia sent around a million pilrim annualy to Saudi to perform umrah.
Reported in the Saudi Gazette on Wednesday (18/10/2023), the main topics on the agenda include the formulation of the hajj season plan, the elaboration of the planning schedule, and the improvement of the level of service readiness.
In a meeting led by the man who also served as Deputy Governor of Makkah Region this referred to broadly encompassing indicators of umrah performance, including statistics of arrivals and departures. There is also talk about setting goals and expectations for the upcoming umrah season. A special attention in the meeting is given to the services rendered to visitors of the Masjid al-Haram, during the season.
The focus of the relevant parties is to facilitate a smooth experience for pilgrims, as well as ensuring they can perform rituals, both obligatory and voluntary, easily and comfortably.
The government of Saudi Arabia is known to have determined that the holding of Hajj 1445H/2024M is better than ever. This commitment is evidenced by the preparation of the Hajj in 1445H, which was carried out from the very beginning.
The readiness was also conveyed by the Director of the Hajj Affairs Office of Saudi Arabia, Dr Badr Sulami, when he received the official visit of the Director of the Ministry of Religious Affairs and Special Hajj in Jeddah, Sunday (8/10/2023).
“Indonesia is our main partner in the organization of Hajj. We have presented the allocation of Indonesian hajj quota from the beginning, even since the organization of hajj this year has not ended,” he said in a statement obtained by Republika on Wednesday (11/10/2023).
Under these conditions, it hopes Indonesia can make early preparations, so that the holding of Hajj in 1445H is also better than ever. It also said that the limit for creating visas is in place by April 2024.
At a meeting packed in such productive discussions, Director of Bina Umrah and Special Hajj Dr H Nur Arifin, M.Pd asked for a technical explanation of the contract of special Hajj services. Badr explained that this year's special Hajj service contract is different from the previous one carried out by each PIHK.
“We requested the contract for special Hajj services entirely through the Office of Hajj Affairs (KUH), no longer contracted by PIHK. The policy is to facilitate communication between ministries,” Badr said. The contract is a follow-up to a previous policy, which stated that organizers who can apply for contracts have worshippers of at least 2,000 Hajj worshippers.
Saudi Arabia further invited Indonesia to jointly conduct special hajj supervision. If a failure is found in the execution, Badr requests that it be immediately conveyed through the contact that has been provided.