The President of the Republic, Abdelmadjid Tebboune, received the Saudi Minister of Hajj and Umrah, Tawfik Ben Fawzan Al-Rabiah.
Indeed, the Head of State, Abdelmadjid Tebboune, received today, Wednesday January 25, 2023 at the headquarters of the Presidency in Algiers, the Saudi Minister of Hajj and Umrah, Tawfik Ben Fawzan Al-Rabiah.
The interview took place at the headquarters of the Presidency of the Republic in the presence of the Director of Cabinet at the Presidency of the Republic, Abdelaziz Khellaf and the Minister of Religious Affairs and Wakfs, Youcef Belmehdi.
Algeria-Saudi Arabia: cooperation for Hajj and Umrah procedures
The Minister of Religious Affairs and Wakfs, Youcef Belmehdi held, on Monday in Algiers, a working session with the Saudi Minister of Hajj and Umrah, Tawfik Ben Fawzan Al-Rabiah concerning Hajj 1444/2023, during which the two parties reviewed the main services and facilities planned for this season.
During a joint press conference with his Saudi counterpart, Belmehdi welcomed “the cooperation of the Saudi authorities with Algeria to facilitate the procedures at the Algerian hadjis”, highlighting “the solid” bilateral relations.
He also affirmed that his department aimed, through the National Office of Pilgrimage and Umrah (ONPO), to engage “a methodical action to iron out the difficulties and meet the challenges in order to provide the best services and support for the Algerian Hadji”.
For his part, the Saudi minister reviewed the various facilitations provided by Saudi Arabia to enable the hajjis to perform the Hajj rituals in excellent conditions, in particular by “simplifying procedures and developing legislation “.
He therefore revealed that “two initiatives have been launched with the aim of reducing the costs of Hajj and Umrah”. The first, explains the Saudi minister, is the opening of competition between Hajj service providers and the improvement of the quality of services in the Holy Places”.
The second measure is to “reduce the amount of insurance by 63% for Umrah and 73% for Hajj with the maintenance of the same medical services”, Al Rabiah added.
Also referring to additional services for the benefit of hajis such as “the extension of the Umrah visa from 30 to 90 days”. A visa which, he says, is now electronic and issued in less than 24 hours.
