29.09.2022

On September 29, President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev received a delegation from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia headed by the Minister of Hajj and Umrah Tawfiq bin Fawzan al-Rabiah.

Issues of enhancing mutually beneficial cooperation in organizing pilgrimage programs and visiting the holy places of the Muslim world, including creating even more favorable and comfortable conditions for the stay of Uzbekistan citizens in Saudi Arabia, were discussed.

At the beginning of the meeting, the Minister of Hajj and Umrah conveyed sincere greetings and best wishes from the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, and Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammad bin Salman Al Saud.

It was emphasized that the current visit of the Saudi delegation is a follow up to the agreements reached during the historic state visit to Saudi Arabia in August this year.

In the course of the meeting, an agreement was reached to double the quotas for Uzbekistan citizens to make Hajj up to 24,000 per year, as well as the Umrah – 100,000 pilgrims.

The sides also considered issues of facilitating the practical implementation of trade, economic and investment cooperation projects, introducing best practices in the field of digitalization, increasing the flow of Saudi tourists to Uzbekistan, taking into account the visa-free regime, establishing partnerships between the leading research centers of the two countries.