Saudi Arabia Launches Nusuk Card to Facilitate Movement of Pilgrims

Worshippers are seen at the Grand Mosque in the holy city of Makkah, Saudi Arabia. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Worshippers are seen at the Grand Mosque in the holy city of Makkah, Saudi Arabia. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
TT

Saudi Arabia Launches Nusuk Card to Facilitate Movement of Pilgrims

Worshippers are seen at the Grand Mosque in the holy city of Makkah, Saudi Arabia. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Worshippers are seen at the Grand Mosque in the holy city of Makkah, Saudi Arabia. (Asharq Al-Awsat)

Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Hajj and Umrah launched on Tuesday the Nusuk card that will facilitate the movement of all pilgrims at the holy sites.

It also offers a number of services and privileges that can be accessed through the Nusuk and Tawakkalna apps.

Nusuk acts as an identification card for pilgrims. It is a comprehensive platform that allows the user to register their personal and health data and other important information. The user can also benefit from a broad array of services.

The user can receive the card through Hajj offices after they obtain their Hajj permit.

Nusuk also works to deepen the Hajj experience by allowing the user to access different services, such as places of accommodation and transport. It provides information about historic, cultural and Islamic locations.

It also allows workers involved in the Hajj pilgrimage to meet the needs of and service the pilgrims.

Nusuk is part of a greater plan the Ministry of Hajj and Umrah is aiming to launch with the goal of utilizing technology to ensure pilgrims have a smooth journey that begins from the moment they arrive in the Kingdom to the moment they leave.

Saudi Arabia is keen on developing procedures and regulations and dedicating technology to facilitate the holy journey and ensure the largest number possible of Muslims can travel to the Kingdom to perform the Hajj and Umrah.

Minister of Hajj and Umrah Dr. Tawfiq bin Fawzan Al-Rabiah was in Indonesia where he handed the first Nusuk card to Minister of Religious Affairs Yaqut Qoumas.

He also met with senior officials, heads of companies and investors to discuss the available opportunities to elevate the services offered during the Hajj.

Along with Minister of Transportation Budi Karya Sumadi, he oversaw the signing of an air transport agreement aimed at increasing the number of flights transporting Indonesian pilgrims headed to Saudi Arabia.



Ukraine’s Zelenskyy Arrives in Saudi Arabia Ahead of Summit with US

In this photo provided by the Ukrainian Presidential Press Office, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, center left, meets with Prince Saud bin Mishaal, deputy governor of Saudi Arabia's Makkah region, center right, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Monday, March 10, 2025. (Ukrainian Presidential Press Office via AP)
In this photo provided by the Ukrainian Presidential Press Office, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, center left, meets with Prince Saud bin Mishaal, deputy governor of Saudi Arabia's Makkah region, center right, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Monday, March 10, 2025. (Ukrainian Presidential Press Office via AP)
TT

Ukraine’s Zelenskyy Arrives in Saudi Arabia Ahead of Summit with US

In this photo provided by the Ukrainian Presidential Press Office, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, center left, meets with Prince Saud bin Mishaal, deputy governor of Saudi Arabia's Makkah region, center right, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Monday, March 10, 2025. (Ukrainian Presidential Press Office via AP)
In this photo provided by the Ukrainian Presidential Press Office, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, center left, meets with Prince Saud bin Mishaal, deputy governor of Saudi Arabia's Makkah region, center right, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Monday, March 10, 2025. (Ukrainian Presidential Press Office via AP)

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy arrived Monday in Saudi Arabia for a visit ahead of his team's meeting with America's top diplomat.

While Zelenskyy himself won't be there, his team will try to repair the damage done when his Feb. 28 visit to Washington descended into an Oval Office argument with President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance.

At stake is the military aid and intelligence previously offered by the United States that had helped Kyiv since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

Saudi state television reported Zelenskyy's arrival in Jeddah, a port city on the Red Sea where the Ukraine-US summit will take place Tuesday.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio was en route to Jeddah as well. However, it didn't appear that Rubio and Zelenskyy would meet in person there.

Zelenskyy has said a team including his chief of staff Andriy Yermak, Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha and Defense Minister Rustem Umerov will take part in the talks Tuesday. Rubio will lead the American team.

If Ukraine and the US reach an understanding acceptable to Trump, that could accelerate his administration’s push to peace talks. However, the rest of Europe remains skeptical as it has been sidelined.

The European Union last week agreed to boost the continent’s defenses and to free up hundreds of billions of euros for security in response to the Trump administration's shift in stance on Ukraine.