Prince Khalid Al-Faisal, Advisor to the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques and Governor of Makkah Region, and Prince Faisal bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, Governor of Madinah Region, inaugurated in Jeddah today the Hajj and Umrah Services Conference and Exhibition "Expo Hajj" 2023, in its 2nd edition, with the participation of 81 speakers from the public and private sectors from inside and outside the Kingdom, as well as high-level delegations of ministers of religious affairs, heads of Hajj missions and higher authorities from more than 57 countries. Minister of Hajj and Umrah, Dr. Tawfiq bin Fawzan Al-Rabiah, delivered a speech in which he affirmed that serving pilgrims from all over the world in performing their rituals in peace and comfort within a digital journey of faith is a top priority, an authentic historical commitment, and a great honor that the government of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques is proud of. He said: "I bring you two good news in this meeting: the first: the return of the numbers of pilgrims to what they were before the pandemic without any age restrictions, and the second: allowing any Hajj mission from around the world to deal with any licensed company that meets the requirements that the pilgrims of those countries need to serve competitiveness and improve the quality of services provided to the pilgrims, in addition to reducing the cost of insurance for Umrah performers by 63%; from SAR235 to SAR88, effective tomorrow, as well as reducing the cost of insurance for pilgrims by 73%; from SAR109 to SAR29," adding that any person coming to the Kingdom with an Umrah visa can visit any city in the Kingdom, and any visitor to the Kingdom will be allowed to perform Umrah at any time. Al-Rabiah stressed the keenness of the Ministry of Hajj and Umrah to improve and develop all services and solutions provided to pilgrims and Umrah performers through the development of regulations and legislation in the Hajj and Umrah system, pointing out that the authorities supervising the affairs of pilgrims and Umrah performers in the countries of the Islamic world gather, and the early signing of Hajj agreements reflects the keenness and continuous effort to provide the best services to pilgrims and Umrah performers smoothly and easily, in partnership with the concerned authorities from 70 different parties. On the sidelines of the opening ceremony, the participants watched a visual presentation highlighting the Kingdom's efforts in serving the pilgrims, followed by the launch of the "Made in Makkah and Madinah" initiative by the Governors of Makkah and Madinah regions.
