JEDDAH — Hajj and Umrah Minister Dr. Tawfiq Al-Rabiah has concluded his official visit to Türkiye that aimed at introducing the Turkish side with the services provided by Saudi Arabia to facilitate the arrival of more pilgrims to the Two Holy Mosques. The official visit of the minister, which was accompanied by a high-level delegation from the Ministry's leaders, partners of the Hajj and Umrah system, and representatives of the private sector and parties related to serving pilgrims, was also aimed at enhancing cooperation and international communication. During meeting with Ali Erbaş, Turkish president of the Presidency of Religious Affairs, Dr. Al-Rabiah confirmed the keenness of the Kingdom and all its sectors on developing the provided services to the pilgrims, He also stressed the digitization of the Umrah procedures in order to contribute in creating a qualitative shift in enriching the pilgrims experience, and also to achieve the Saudi Vision 2030. The joint efforts between Saudi Arabia and Türkiye have contributed to the arrival of more than 406,000 Turkish Umrah pilgrims in 1444 AH, he said. He added that since the start of the Umrah season of 1445 AH, the number of Turkish pilgrims has reached more than 50,000 pilgrims, recording a 60% increase compared to the previous year. Dr. Al-Rabiah has also announced that Saudi Arabia has included Türkiye among the list of countries eligible to obtain the electronic visit visa (E-VISA). The Turkish pilgrims will be able to obtain the e-visa within 5 minutes. The e-visa will enable the Turkish pilgrims to perform Umrah, visit the Prophet's Mosque, and also to visit different cities of the Kingdom. It also enables them for multiple entry into Saudi Arabia, and to stay for up to 90 days. The e-visa will be valid for 365 days (one year). He said that this comes as an extension of the strategic relations between the two countries, and an emphasis on providing all facilities to pilgrims. The official visit has also witnessed holding a number of expanded meetings with Turkish officials in public and private sectors. The meetings reviewed the efforts made from more than 30 Saudi government bodies operating within the Hajj and Umrah system, in order to accelerate the work to enhance the strategic bilateral cooperation between the two sides. The meetings reviewed the efforts made to raise the quality of the provided service for pilgrims coming from Türkiye. Moreover, the visit included introducing the Umrah Nusuk platform, which is the Unified National Digital platform that enables the visitors to choose a number of services options such as accommodation, transportation, and flight reservation. Among the services provided by the platform is the ability for users to obtain reliable official information, in addition to comprehensive guides to historical and Islamic sites.
