In the participation of the Acting Minister of Media Dr. Majid bin Abdullah Al-Qasabi and the General President for the Affairs of the Grand Mosque and the Prophet's Mosque Sheikh Dr. Abdurrahman bin Abdulaziz Al-Sudais, the Presidency of the Two Holy Mosques launched today, via video conference, its operational plan for Hajj season 1442 H (2021). In his speech to mark the occasion, Dr. Al-Qasabi expressed happiness to participate in the launch of the media plan for the presidency of the Two Holy Mosques for this year's Hajj season, stressing the honor of the Kingdom, leadership and people, to serve the Two Holy Mosques and whoever comes to them as a pilgrim, Umrah performer, or visitor. "The Kingdom's government, under the leadership of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud and HRH the Crown Prince enabled all sectors concerned in the country to facilitate the service of pilgrims, and use all capabilities to facilitate the pilgrims' Hajj obligation and the rituals of Hajj with security, safety, ease and health", he said Dr. Al-Qasabi explained that the organization of this year's Hajj season is taking place for the second year in a row, amid exceptional circumstances, in light of what the whole world is witnessing of ongoing developments of the novel coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic and the emergence of the virus new mutations, highlighting that the Kingdom's decision to limit this year's Hajj season to 60,000 pilgrims only from within the Kingdom, including citizens and residents, comes in order to preserve the health and safety of pilgrims, and ensure that Hajj rituals are held in a safe and healthy environment with the application of precautionary measures. The acting Minister of Media also expressed thanks to the General President for the Affairs of the Grand Mosque and the Prophet's Mosque and all employees of the Presidency for their continuous efforts to serve the Two Holy Mosques. For his part, the General President of the Affairs of the Grand Mosque and the Prophet's Mosque, extended his thanks to the wise leadership for the generous and great care it accords to the Two Holy Mosques and their pilgrims, Umrah pilgrims and visitors, stressing that the State's care was manifested in the wisely successful decisions and precautionary measures taken by the Kingdom in the Two Holy Mosques since the outbreak of the pandemic, as the exceptional Hajj season was crowned with great success that the whole world witnessed, according to codified procedures and extensive arrangements of which many State agencies came together and joined hands to achieve. Sheikh Dr. Al-Sudais also highlighted the Presidency's keenness to intensify precautions and activate the technical aspects, while being keen on facilitating rituals, enriching the experience and achieving leadership in good hospitality in line with the values and vision of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia 2030, indicating that the General Presidency's plan for the affairs of the Grand Mosque and the Prophet's Mosque for this year's Hajj season 2021 depends on several pillars, namely, in the good hospitality that aims to highlight the values of generosity and hospitality in providing services to pilgrims of the Grand Mosque, which are derived from the true religion and the teachings of the Prophet, may Allah's prayers and peace be upon him, and what has been known about the people of the Kingdom since its inception at the hands of the founder, late Imam King Abdulaziz up to this prosperous era. Regarding watering services, Sheikh Dr. Al-Sudais indicated that the presidency aims to distribute bottles of Zamzam water to pilgrims during this year's Hajj season, and it has used the latest artificial intelligence techniques to provide bottles of blessed Zamzam water through smart robots and high-tech vehicles, to provide chilled and sterilized water, according to the precautionary controls and procedures, in addition to providing more than (800) "manual and electric, single or double" vehicles to facilitate movement within the Grand Mosque and its courtyards, and to ease the performance of rituals for the elderly and people with disabilities among the pilgrims. He also stated that the presidency has recruited up to 5,000 workers who are working to sterilize the entire Grand Mosque, its courtyards and facilities ten times a day, plus the backup washes, using more than 60,000 liters of disinfectant materials, and worked to use the latest technologies in the field of sterilization and disinfection to ensure that the environment of the Grand Mosque is free of any viruses or epidemics, as smart robots and a number of modern mechanisms have been included in the sterilization operations and are operated by a group of qualified national competencies. He indicated that the campaign titled ''Serving the Pilgrim and the Visitor is a badge of pride for us'' continues for the ninth year in a row, with the presidency aims through it to provide valuable gifts such as umbrellas, sterilizers, and the like, making it easier for the pilgrim to perform his rituals. With regard to grouping and gatherings, Dr. Sheikh Al-Sudais explained that the presidency has prepared a tight plan in cooperation with the Ministry of Hajj and Umrah and the concerned authorities to facilitate the entry of pilgrims to the Grand Mosque to perform the three-time circumambulations of Arrival Tawaf, Tawaf al-Ifadah and Farewell Tawaf through multiple entrances and exits, and raise the capacity of the virtual paths on the courtyard to 25. Regarding the precautionary measures, he stated that the presidency was keen on continuous sterilization of all facilities used by pilgrims before and after performing rituals, including sterilization of all direct service workers and the provision of sterilizers at all entrances, corridors and squares. Dr. Al-Sudais stressed that the presidency did not neglect people with disabilities in the interest of this dear group, as the presidency prepared a number of small rooms for prayer to be adapted for the elderly and people with disabilities, in addition to special toilets for them, and an electronic application under the name "movement" to request transportation services inside the Grand Mosque, indicating that there are more than 3000 women working in the Presidency to serve female pilgrims at the Grand Mosque at the highest levels. He also highlighted the Presidency's keenness to convey the message of the Two Holy Mosques, the message of moderation, to the whole world, through more than 109 lessons offered by more than 29 teachers affiliating to the Council of Senior Scholars, imams, preachers and teachers of the Two Holy Mosques, and broadcast throughout the course of the year via (Manarat Al-Haramain) application, translated into translated into 25 international languages. He pointed to the continuation of the project of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz to translate Friday sermons in the Two Holy Mosques as well as the sermon on the Day of Arafat, with the aim of delivering them to nearly 100 million listeners, in addition to broadcasting the translation of the sermon on the Day of Arafat in both English and French on the two TV channels of the Holy Qur'an And the Sunnah of the Prophet. The General President of the Two Holy Mosques Affairs concluded that the Presidency has allocated approximately 10,000 manpower, qualified and trained to serve pilgrims during this blessed season, according to the precautionary and preventive measures and within the Presidency's plan to keep pace with qualitative leaps, noting that the Presidency was keen to launch many electronic services aimed at facilitating the performance of the pilgrims' Hajj rituals. prepared with
