RIYADH: Saudi Minister of Hajj and Umrah Tawfiq Al-Rabiah announced that all COVID-19 procedures and vaccination requirements for pilgrims coming from Turkey have been canceled, within the framework of new measures to facilitate the arrival of Umrah performers.
This came during a joint press conference between Al-Rabiah and Turkey’s Head of Religious Affairs Ali Erbas in the presence of other key officials from the Ministry of Hajj and Umrah, the Saudi Embassy in Ankara and the Consulate General in Istanbul.
Al-Rabiah stated that Turkish pilgrims are excluded from any requirements, stressing that the Kingdom’s government and people welcome all pilgrims without limit to the number of arrivals while making it possible to perform Umrah for those who have all types of visas from all countries of the world, within the framework of the continuous support and attention Saudi Arabia provides to serve Islam and Muslims, and facilitate their arrival to perform their rituals easily and smoothly.
During the conference, Al-Rabiah expressed his appreciation for the warm welcome that he and his delegation received, noting the distinguished ties between the two countries under the leadership of King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
He also referred to the rapid developments the Two Holy Mosques and the holy sites underwent in terms of infrastructure and organization to receive the expected increases in the numbers of pilgrims, Umrah performers, and visitors, and to provide them with the finest services, through digital transformation, and various options and solutions to enable Muslims from all over the world to perform Umrah.
Al-Rabiah further touched on the development of electronic services provided by the nusuk.sa platform to ease obtaining Umrah and visit visas and book all services instantly through smart devices to facilitate access to the Two Holy Mosques, and enrich the experiences of visitors.
