RIYADH: King Abdullah has thanked Prince Naif and the thousands of workers for their contributions to the success of this year's Haj season. “We thank you, the brave security men and the participants from all civil and military departments as well as the private sectors for your noble feelings and service to pilgrims,” he said in a cable to Prince Naif, Second Deputy premier, minister of Interior and Chairman of Supreme Haj Committee. “We thank Allah Almighty for the great success achieved during Haj season of this year. Allah Almighty has enabled the wise leadership of this country to carry out its duty toward the pilgrims. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has dedicated its resources to serving the pilgrims, which resulted in allowing them to perform their rituals easily, despite the large number of pilgrims (almost 2.8 million) this year. Their movement was flowing according to security, service, regulatory and preventive plans, from their entry into this country until their departure.” King Abdullah said a number of successfully executed plans and projects helped make the Haj a success. “Zamzam water project, partial operation of the Mashair Train, the completion of the fifth phase of Al-Jamarat project and other projects were of a great help,” he said in the cable. Prince Naif congratulated King Abdullah on the success of this year's Haj and pointed out that the accomplishment was based on plans and efforts exerted to serve more pilgrims and make the Haj a success. Compared to last year, the number of pilgrims increased by more than 475,000, a 20.5-percent increase, Prince Naif noted.
