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RIYADH: The Saudi-UK Bilateral Military Cooperation Committee held its fourth meeting in Riyadh on Tuesday.
The meeting discussed bilateral relations, defense and military cooperation, and a number of topics of common interest.
Saudi Arabia’s Chief of the General Staff, Lieutenant General Fayyadh Al-Ruwaili, and the Chief of the UK Defense Staff, Admiral Sir Antony Radakin, co-chaired the meeting.
Senior Saudi and British officers attended the meeting.
JEDDAH: Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Hajj and Umrah announced the suspension of contracts with 1,800 foreign travel agencies operating in the Umrah sector, out of approximately 5,800, giving them 10 days to rectify their status.
The decision follows the results of a periodic evaluation that revealed performance shortcomings and poor service quality among these agencies, the Saudi Press Agency reported on Sunday.
The ministry stated that the suspension applies only to the issuance of new visas and is part of a regulatory approach to help agencies address classification issues and improve compliance with approved standards.
Contracts will be reactivated once the requirements are met within the grace period, according to the ministry.
The ministry confirmed that Umrah performers holding valid visas or existing reservations will not be affected, as services to them will continue unchanged.
It added that applying the approved classification and performance indicators is a fundamental regulatory measure to raise compliance among service providers and ensure services meet approved standards.
The ministry emphasized that protecting the rights of Umrah performers and ensuring service continuity are priorities in all regulatory measures.
Ghassan Alnwaimi, the ministry’s spokesperson, said regulatory action will be taken against any agency that fails to correct deficiencies by the deadline.
He added that the ministry will continue using monitoring and evaluation tools to strengthen the reliability of the Umrah sector and safeguard pilgrims’ rights.
