Osaka — Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman increased India’s Hajj quota by 30,000 which makes a total of 200,000 Indian pilgrims every year, during a Saudi-India bilateral meeting in Japanese city of Osaka.
India’s Minority Affairs Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said that it’s the third hike in the last three years. India’s Hajj quota in 2014 was 136,000, while in 2019 it’s 200,000.
India’s Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale said that “the crown prince has promised PM Modi the quota will be increased.”
India’s newly appointed ambassador to Saudi Arabia, Dr. Ausaf Sayeed welcomed the Mohammed bin Salman’s decision.
“We are grateful to the Kingdom for increasing the Hajj quota. This will be the highest number of pilgrims to be handled by the Indian Hajj mission in its history,” Indian ambassador said.
“The decision reflects the increasingly close and developing strategic relationship between the two countries, which has taken an upward trajectory in the recent years,” he added
Saudi Government especially Makkah’s Governor Prince Khaled al-Faisal and Hajj Minister Mohammed Salih Bentin have promised that Indian pilgrims’ stay in the Kingdom will be comfortable as much as possible.
