Yemen’s Minister of Endowment and Guidance Mohamed Shabiba said all Yemeni pilgrims seeking to perform this year’s Hajj have arrived in Saudi Arabia.
In remarks to Asharq Al-Awsat, he revealed that 24,522 Yemenis will perform the pilgrimage.
Saudi efforts have helped ease their journey from Yemen to the Kingdom, he added, citing the operation of direct flights from Yemen’s Sanaa International Airport to Jeddah’s King Abdulaziz International Airport.
The Saudi leadership had ordered the operation of the flights – for the first time in seven years – to help facilitate the travel of Yemenis.
The Iran-backed Houthi militias had placed several obstacles that had hindered land travel in Yemen to the Kingdom, with journeys taking up to three days. With the operation of the Jeddah flights, Yemenis can travel from Sanaa to Saudi Arabia in an hour.
Shabiba stressed that Saudi Arabia was keen on easing the travel of Yemeni Hajj pilgrims in line with the initiatives of the Ministry of Hajj and Umrah that aim to facilitate the holy journey for pilgrims across the Arab and Islamic world.
Saudi Arabia and Yemen share religious, fraternal and Arab bonds, he remarked.
The modern services provided to the pilgrims in Makkah, Madinah and the holy sites reflect the extent of the Saudi government and people’s interest in the Hajj pilgrims, he went on to say.
The digitalization of the visa procedures has greatly facilitated the application process for would-be pilgrims, stated the minister.
