by admin | May 25, 2021 | Muslim World
Jeddah : Saudi Arabia and Pakistan on Sunday signed the bilateral Hajj agreement for the year 2019. Minister of Hajj and Umrah Mohammed Saleh Benten and visiting Pakistan Federal Minister for Religious Affairs Pir Noorul Haq Qadri signed the agreement at the minister’s office in Makkah.
Deputy Minister of Hajj and Umrah Dr. Abdulfattah Bin Sulaiman Mashat, Secretary for Hajj Affairs Hussain Sherif and other senior officials from the Saudi side while Religious Affairs Secretary Muhammed Mushtaq Ahmad and Director General of Hajj Dr. Sajid Yousfani from the Pakistani side attended the discussions held prior to the signing of the agreement.
As part of the Kingdom’s initiative to sign annual bilateral Hajj agreements with Islamic countries, the Hajj minister received the Pakistani delegation, according to a statement issued by the ministry.
Minister Benten also received the delegation from Jordan, headed by Awqaf and Islamic Affairs Minister Abdul Nasser Abul Bassal.
The visiting ministers commended the Hajj arrangements made by Saudi Arabia and hailed the services being offered by Kingdom to pilgrims, the statement added.
The Pakistani minister said the effective usage of technology has significantly eased the performance of the Hajj ritual. The Hajj quota for Pakistan for the year 2019 will be 184,210, which is an increase of 5,000, compared with last year’s 179,210.
Pakistan is set to implement E-Hajj visa program from the next season. Pakistan will be included in the Makkah Road scheme to implement Proof of Concept (POC) system for pre-clearance at the Karachi airport, said a senior Pakistan official.
The POC system enables immigration checks in home countries at the time of departure, instead of upon arrival in the Kingdom. The scheme known as the Makkah Road significantly reduces the waiting time for pilgrims at the Saudi airports upon arrival.
The official said 35,000 pilgrims from the Sindh province would be covered in the first phase of the scheme, which will be expanded to other parts of the country subsequently, the official said.
—AG/UNA-OIC
by admin | May 25, 2021 | Muslim World
Makkah : Dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences at Umm Al-Qura University (UQU) Dr. Adnan bin Nouri Al-Harbi met with General Supervisor of the Training Center of the Union of OIC News Agencies (UNA) Fahd bin Ahmed Al-Ghamdi, at the UQU campus in Abidiyyah, Makkah, on Tuesday.
The two sides discussed aspects of cooperation during the meeting, held in the presence of Assistant to the UNA Training General Supervisor for Technical Affairs Ahmed Al-Zahrani, Head of the Media Department at the Faculty Dr. Salem bin Ali Arija, and members of the academic staff of the faculty including Dr. Mohammed Al-Zahrani, Dr. Khalid Hajar and Dr. Wadi Al-Az’azi.
The dean of the college welcomed the general supervisor of the UNA Training Center and his accompanying delegation. He expressed his appreciation of the support provided by the Saudi leadership to the educational process at the college and praised the support of UQU President Prof. Abdullah bin Omar Bafail to the college activities and programs related to the media and social aspects as well as translation and geography.
Al-Harbi said this meeting is part of the faculty strategic plan, which is in line with the UQU programs and activities that are in conformity with the Kingdom’s Vision 2030 toward serving the community through highly qualified national cadres whose educational output is compatible with the requirements of the labor market.
For his part, Al-Ghamdi commended the educational output of the Faculty of Social Sciences, which is consistent with the activities of the UNA Training Center. He expressed hope that the UQU, represented by the Faculty of Social Sciences, would enter into a cooperation partnership with the Center in the areas of consultation and training for the sake of exchanging experiences.
—AB/UNA-OIC
by admin | May 25, 2021 | Commodities, Commodities News, Commodity Market, Investing, Muslim World
Makkah : Members of the Saudi Arabian Scouts Association, serving Umrah pilgrims at the Grand Mosque, have been in joint efforts with staff at the Ministry of Trade and Investment to monitor commodity prices in Makkah.
The scouts are ensuring that sellers are adhering to price tags on items and are keeping an eye on attempts of commercial fraud.
Scout head Abdel Aziz Abdul Rahman Al-Ghanam said the cooperation has intensified its effort during the last ten days of Ramadan, by dedicating several scout units to aid the ministry in detecting any violations.
The scouting units are spread across the central areas surrounding the Grand Mosque joined by ministry officials. The units also help detect damaged goods, and anything unfit for human consumption.
The scouts received training on the hands of ministry officials on the mechanism of quality control. They succeeded in the past days of detecting items that are replicas of high-end brands being sold to consumers, as well as items that aren’t abiding by the ministry’s policies.
—AG/UNA-OIC
by admin | May 25, 2021 | Corporate, Corporate Buzz, Muslim World
Mumbai : The Indian Hotels Co Ltd (IHCL) on Tuesday announced its foray into the Holy City of Makkah, Saudi Arabia for opening a luxury hotel in collaboration with Umm Al Qura Development and Construction Co.
With 340 rooms, the hotel will come up on the King Abdul Aziz Road (KAAR) Project, one of the largest urban rejuvenation ventures in Makkah.
An agreement to this effect was signed between IHCL MD and CEO Puneet Chhatwal and Umm Al Qura’s Senior Executive, Hospitality, Hisham Ebeid, said a spokesperson here.
Scheduled to be operational in January 2023, the hotel will have banqueting facilities, multi-cuisine restaurants and will be in close proximity to the commercial centres, retail markets and other landmarks within the KAAR Project.
It will also be within walking distance of the Grand Mosque, Masjid Al-Haram, which is thronged by over six million Haj pilgrims every year, said Chhatwal.
This will be IHCL’s fourth hospitality venture in the MENA region with plans to open two more hotels in Dubai over the next 18 months, besides managing the Taj Dubai in the Burj Khalifa downtown area.
The Umm Al Qura for Development & Construction Co (UAQ) is a joint stock company entrusted with the development, construction and operation of the KAAR Project.
—IANS
by admin | May 25, 2021 | Halal Industries, Muslim World
Makkah : The Muslim World League (MWL) has established the world’s largest Halal Center in Makkah, to be an international reference to whatever concerns the halal products.
MWL said it is in the process of launching a website for halal in more than 20 languages, in line with its efforts to restructure its Halal Commission and transform it into the world’s first brand of halal.
The Pan-Islamic NGO affirmed that it is the world leader in applying the halal terms, pointing out that it takes great care in the application of legal and regulatory standards, whether on products exported to Saudi Arabia or to countries with which the MWL has agreed to control exports.
MWL explained that it oversees all the stages of halal production and export, in order to ensure its institutional work in this field. It revealed that it has sent specialists and legal experts to a number of countries including Brazil, Australia, Canada, to directly supervise the halal industry, record remarks and take legal action against violators.
The League said it had received calls from many governments in Asia and Europe to be the authorized exporter of halal products to the countries of those governments. It added that halal agreements have been concluded with some of these governments, while agreements are at final stages with others.
—AB/UNA-OIC
