Prince Khaled Al-Faisal, Emir of Makkah and Chairman of the Central Haj Committee, during the launch of an awareness campaign for pilgrims, under the theme “Haj is worship and civilized conduct,” in Makkah, Saturday. — SPA MAKKAH – Prince Khaled Al-Faisal, Emir of Makkah region and Chairman of the Central Haj Committee, chaired Saturday at the governorate a meeting of the committee, which comprises representatives of all sectors related the pilgrimage service. At the outset of the meeting, Prince Khaled said the number of pilgrims who arrived by air, land and sea have already exceeded 300,000. He pointed out that the number of arrivals will double in the next few days. He said the increasing number of pilgrims requires continued exertion of utmost efforts and preparations to provide distinctive services for the guests of God. He said this requires that all the plans laid down by different authorities ought to be well-coordinated and supported to achieve success. Prince Khaled lauded the standard of services and the efforts exerted by the authorities concerned to serve pilgrims during last year's Haj season. He stressed the need for continuing efforts to upgrade the standard of services, develop them and benefit from lessons learned from previous seasons. "Observations ought to be addressed so as to achieve better standards," he said. The prince stressed the importance of mutual cooperation and coordination between the different Haj agencies. The meeting discussed the plans of the Ministry of Haj, Makkah Mayoralty, the Health Affairs in Makkah region, police, the Directorate General of Passports, the Ministry of Commerce and Industry and Jeddah Mayoralty. They discussed the latest measures taken to increase the capacity of pilgrims' housing in Mina and the studies and projects accomplished for unifying the sorting points at the gateways to Makkah during Haj and Umrah seasons. — SG/SPA
