Saudi king to host 1,400 pilgrims for Hajj

Saudi King Abdallah bin Abdulaziz al-Saud will host 1,400 visitors from 70 different countries to the Hajj pilgrimage this year, the kingdom’s minister for Islamic affairs, endowment, calls and guidance said Tuesday on behalf of the monarch.

Saleh bin Abdul Aziz al-Sheikh, who is also general supervisor of the king’s guests program, said in a press release that the countries from which the king would be hosting pilgrims included Indonesia, Bangladesh, Thailand, the Philippines, Cambodia,

Kyrgyzstan, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Afghanistan, Vietnam, Malaysia, Singapore, Myanmar, Maldives, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro, Slovenia, India, Serbia, Sweden, Finland, Norway, Ireland, Iceland, Niger, Uganda, Rwanda, Madagascar, Zambia, Comoros, Kenya, Tanzania, Cape Verde, as well as 40 other African countries.

Sheikh noted that to date the total number of visitors hosted by King Abdallah had reached 20,000 Muslims from around the world, counting from the start of the program’s implementation.

He said the ministry has set its annual plan for this year with the goal of hosting the maximum number of nationalities from different countries, a decision that will realize a dream to those whose countries haven’t previously been listed.