RIYADH: The number of Umrah visas issued this year has reached 7,463,259, of which 6,964,943 pilgrims have arrived in the Kingdom, according to data provided by the Hajj Ministry.
There are 925,246 pilgrims still in the Kingdom, with 679,929 in Makkah and 245,317 in Madinah, the Saudi Press Agency reported.
Most pilgrims — 6,185,504 — came to the Kingdom by air, while 671,356 entered by land and 108,083 arrived by sea.
The largest number of pilgrims are from Pakistan (1,530,855) followed by Indonesia (934,827), India (635,675), Egypt (524,728), Algeria (353,425), Yemen (323,083), Turkey (300,517), Malaysia (26,9554), Iraq (268,179) and Jordan (194,908).
The weekly data also included the number of Saudi staff within Umrah companies and institutions. They are 10,852 Saudis including 8,978 males and 1,874 females.
Developing Hajj and Umrah organizations and services in the Kingdom is among the top priorities of the Saudi government.
The Vision 2030 reform plan aims to attract more than 30 million Umrah pilgrims, and provide them with excellent services and an outstanding experience.
Hajj Ministry: More than 7.46m Umrah visas issued so far
Hajj Ministry: More than 7.46m Umrah visas issued so far
- The largest number of pilgrims are from Pakistan
- The Vision 2030 reform plan aims to attract more than 30 million Umrah pilgrims, and provide them with excellent services and an outstanding experience
World’s largest Arabic opera opens in Riyadh
- The opera was produced by the Saudi Theater and Performing Arts Commission
RIYADH: “Zarqa Al-Yamama,” the world’s first and largest grand opera in Arabic, made its debut at the King Fahad Cultural Center in Riyadh, taking the audience on a lyrical journey through one of the best-known folkloric tales in the Arabian Peninsula.
The opera was produced by the Saudi Theater and Performing Arts Commission, and will run until May 4, telling the story of the central character’s attempts to warn her Jadis tribe of an imminent invasion.
Saudi chemistry duo add to KSA medal haul
- Team members were selected by Mawhiba
RIYADH: Two Saudi students have added to the Kingdom’s medal haul at the 2024 Mendeleev International Chemistry Olympiad being held in China from April 20-27.
Hassan Abdul Jalil Al-Khalifa, a third-grade secondary student from the Provincial Department of Education, Eastern Province, and fellow student Ali Salah Al-Moussa claimed bronze medals at the competition, lifting the Kingdom’s overall tally to three silver and 20 bronze.
More than 150 students from 27 countries are competing at the 58th session of the Olympiad.
Saudi Arabia is represented by a team of six students from several educational institutions.
Team members were selected by the King Abdulaziz and his Companions Foundation for Giftedness and Creativity, also known as Mawhiba.
Students were chosen after attending a series of forums over the course of two years, and were trained by Mawhiba, in partnership with the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology.
Saudi deputy minister of interior heads delegation at first conference to combat drug trafficking
- Kingdom’s participation in the conference was an extension of its efforts in the war on drugs
MAUTIRIUS: Dr. Nasser bin Abdul Aziz Al-Dawood, Saudi deputy minister of interior, headed the Kingdom’s delegation participating in the first conference to combat drug trafficking and substance abuse, held in Mauritius, which concluded on Thursday.
Al-Dawood said that the Kingdom’s participation in the conference was an extension of its efforts in the war on drugs, monitoring and diagnosing their effects and harms, and strengthening international cooperation procedures and information exchange to combat the activities of organized crime networks in general, and drug crime in particular.
Cultural Communication Center holds human communication diwaniya
- The diwaniya tackled three themes
SAKAKA: The King Abdulaziz Center for Cultural Communication in cooperation with Al-Jouf Youth Association, held the Cultural Communication Diwaniya “Basic Pillars for Human Communication in the Kingdom” in Sakaka on Thursday.
The diwaniya tackled three themes: the ethics of human communication; the dimensions of human communication according to Vision 2030; and human communication according to international law.
Abdulaziz bin Abdulwahad Al-Hamwan, the center’s supervisor in Al-Jouf, said the goals of diwaniya were to “enhance national and human communication, consolidate the values of national cohesion, and spread the culture of human communication skills among beneficiaries.”
Minister of Islamic affairs holds meeting to discuss this year’s Hajj season
- Focus on various volunteering opportunities
RIYADH: Saudi Minister of Islamic Affairs, Dawah and Guidance Sheikh Abdullatif Al-Asheikh held a meeting in Jeddah on Thursday to discuss the ministry’s activities and projects during this year’s Hajj season.
The meeting was held in the presence of the ministry’s undersecretaries, the directors general of the ministry’s branch in the Makkah region, and the secretary-general for Islamic awareness in Hajj, Umrah and visitation, as well as several other officials.
The minister focused on the most prominent ongoing projects, and progress in the preparation of the ministry’s facilities and services, including the mosques at the holy sites, the central area in Makkah, and activities provided by the ministry.
He looked at the importance of volunteering opportunities during this year’s Hajj season, and following up on special projects at the mosques and holy sites that serve pilgrims during this year’s Hajj.
