MADINAH: The Guests of the King Salman for Hajj and Umrah program in Madinah expressed their thanks and appreciation for being selected by the program to perform Hajj this year.
The guests praised the great services, continuous efforts and mega-projects carried out and being implemented by the Saudi government at the Two Holy Mosques and holy sites to facilitate Hajj for pilgrims.
Bashir Shakir Idris, a lecturer at Ahmadu Bello University in Nigeria, thanked the government for the care and concern pilgrims have received.
Swiss pilgrim Mariam Nasser Mabrouk expressed her pleasure for being hosted through this program, which she described as an extension of the Islamic efforts exerted by the Saudi government and a noble humanitarian act.
She considered the program as “a link between Muslims around the world. They meet in one place for one purpose.”
Mabrouk also said that “what the program offers of cultural and awareness programs, books and visits to various religious, cultural and historical places are an enrichment added for the participants, especially with regard to Islamic history, the Prophet’s biography and the architecture of the Two Holy Mosques.”
Al-Wahi Khair Al-Buhtiar, the third-place winner in the Hadith Memorizing Competition for the Asia-Pacific region, praised the efforts made by the program’s staff for facilitating bookings and receptions.
Mahmoud Abu Yusuf Al-Safri of Malaysia expressed his admiration of what he saw of the development and expansion projects of the Grand Mosque.
“The efforts of the Saudi government are clear and appreciated by the whole world,” said one of Vietnam’s pilgrims. He also stressed that “these tremendous efforts are much appreciated and can’t be ignored.”
Afdhal Ahmad Aslam, among Pakistan’s pilgrims, commended the “facilities, projects and expansions carried out to serve pilgrims in the Two Holy Mosques and the holy places to help pilgrims perform their rituals.”
Pilgrim Matari Mohammed of the Comoros considered the hosting by King Salman to perform the Hajj as an extension of the interest of the leadership of Saudi Arabia in Muslim concerns, and “a continuance of the process of good and giving being done by the leaders of the Kingdom to Islamic work.”
Farida Salahuddin from Thailand expressed her thanks to King Salman for what she saw of the mega-projects in Makkah and Madinah, which facilitated their Hajj performance.
Argentine pilgrim Rouen Daniel Khatib congratulated King Salman and the noble Saudi people on the success of the pilgrimage this year.
King Salman’s humanitarian gesture to host, facilitate Hajj pilgrims lauded
King Salman’s humanitarian gesture to host, facilitate Hajj pilgrims lauded
Kingdom key player in regional peace, EU official says
- Hana Jalloul Muro highlights Riyadh’s role in regional stability, economic growth and advancing EU-Saudi strategic ties
Riyadh: Hana Jalloul Muro, vice-chair of the European Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee, has praised Saudi Arabia’s role as a “reliable partner” to the EU.
Describing the Kingdom as a “key international actor,” she highlighted its pivotal role in regional stability, including brokering peace talks on Ukraine, promoting peace in Palestine, and supporting stable governments in Lebanon and the Syrian Arab Republic.
“Saudi is a reliable partner because it is a country that has demonstrated that with Vision 2030, only in the last five, six years, it has changed impressively. It has a major women’s labor force, a very low youth unemployment rate and is growing very fast,” Muro told Arab News.
Speaking on the sidelines of the Future Minerals Forum in Riyadh, she added: “Saudi Arabia is becoming a key major player in the international arena now — for peace conversations on Ukraine, supporting the Syrian government, paying Syria’s external debt, stabilizing the government in Lebanon, promoting peace in Gaza, in Palestine and pushing for a ceasefire, too.
“So, I think it is a very key international actor, very important in the region for stability,” Muro added.
Explaining why she considers the Kingdom a reliable partner, Muro said: “It’s a country that knows how to see to the East and to the West.”
Muro also serves as the European Parliament’s rapporteur for Saudi Arabia, and is responsible for drafting reports on legislative and budgetary proposals and other key bilateral issues.
In mid-December 2025, the European Parliament endorsed a road map to elevate EU-Saudi relations into a full-fledged strategic partnership, which Saudi Ambassador to the EU Haifa Al-Jedea described as “an important milestone” in bilateral ties.
The report highlighted the possibility of Saudi-EU visa-free travel, reaffirming the EU’s commitment to advancing a safe, mutually beneficial visa-free arrangement with the five GCC countries to ensure equal treatment under the new EU visa strategy.
“One of the key hot topics is the visa waiver to Saudi Arabia, which I always support,” Muro said. “Saudi Arabia has, as you are aware, been in cascade for five years, and I think we need to work toward a visa waiver.”
The report also highlighted the economic significance of Saudi tourists to EU member states, particularly for the hospitality, retail and cultural sectors, while emphasizing that Saudi citizens do not pose a source of irregular migration pressure.
When asked about the status of the visa waiver, Muro said: “The approval, it is the recommendation to the commission to take into account its importance. We need to advance on that because we are in the framework of this strategic partnership agreement that covers many topics, so this is why the visa waiver is a central key issue.”
She added: “I think by now we recognize the international role of Saudi Arabia and how important it is to us as a neighbor — not only for security, counter-terrorism and energy, but for everything. We need to get closer to partners like the GCC, Saudi specifically.
“And I think that we need to take Saudi Arabia as a very big ally of ours,” Muro said.
During her time in Riyadh, Muro took part in a panel at the forum focused on the EU-KSA business and investment dialogue, and advancing the critical raw materials value chain.
On the sidelines, she met Saudi Vice Foreign Minister Waleed Elkhereiji to discuss ways to further strengthen Saudi-EU relations.
She also met Hala Al-Tuwaijri, chairwoman of the Saudi Human Rights Commission, saying: “I have to congratulate you and the government, your country, on doing a great job.”
