KUWAIT: Preparations are now complete to welcome the 8,000 Kuwaiti pilgrims going to Hajj this year, said Kuwaiti Ambassador to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Sheikh Sabah Nasser Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah in a statement to Kuwait’s state media agency KUNA. The embassy and consulate in Jeddah give the utmost care to providing pilgrims with all the amenities they need to during their Hajj trip, he added. The Kuwaiti Consul General of the OIC in Jeddah Mohammad Al-Mutairi said the consulate has set up committees working round the clock to provide services to pilgrims.
Kuwaiti pilgrims in Saudi Arabia should not hesitate in contacting the embassy or consulate in Jeddah for emergencies, mentioned Sheikh Sabah Nasser. The consulate has also set-up an office in Mecca and another at the King Abdulaziz International Airport to help pilgrims facing any difficulties as they perform Hajj, in addition to the consulates services regularly offered. Preparations are also underway at the Kuwait International Airport to facilitate all travel procedures for Kuwait’s 8,000 pilgrims, Acting Director of the Directorate-General of Civil Aviation Imad Al-Jalawi told media this week.
He said 4,000 pilgrims will fly to Saudi Arabia on flights operated by Kuwait Airways and Jazeera Airways, while the other half will fly on Saudi budget airline Adeal. The first flight carrying pilgrims will take off on June 21, he said. Teams from the information, health and awqaf ministries have already arrived in Saudi Arabia. Delegates from the Interior Ministry, the Red Cresent and the Food Authority will arrive next week. Bedoon pilgrims Illegal residents (bedoon) will get the chance to perform Hajj this year. Saudi authorities had agreed to allow 1,000 bedoon pilgrims from Kuwait, the Awqaf ministry announced earlier this week.
Registration opened Monday and closed Wednesday for Bedoon prospective pilgrims to submit their documents as required. About 4,400 bedoons who sent in their applications for Hajj meet the conditions for registration, Supervisor of Hajj and Umra Affairs committee Mohammad Al-Saeedi said Wednesday. The Hajj and Umra committee has already begun sorting through the applications, according to sources. Priority will be given to those who have not performed Hajj before. Applications will also be processed according to age, with elderly applicants and their companions selected over those who are younger.
The agreement to allow bedoon people to go to Hajj followed talks between Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, first announced in March. The negotiations were based on instructions from His Highness the Prime Minister Sheikh Ahmad Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah to launch efforts to help bedoons perform hajj this year. Saudi Arabia said it expects an "exceptional" and "safe" Hajj pilgrimage this year, according to media agencies. "All preparations bode well. We are optimistic about this Hajj season," Sheikh Abdulrahman Al-Sudais, head of the General Presidency for the Affairs of the Two Holy Mosques, told the state-run Al-Ekhbariya television channel.