Saudi Press

Saudi Arabia and the world
Friday, Sep 05, 2025

Saudi Arabia to receive as many Umrah pilgrims as per quota granted before COVID-19 outbreak

Saudi Arabia to receive as many Umrah pilgrims as per quota granted before COVID-19 outbreak

The Ministry of Hajj and Umrah affirmed its readiness to receive as many Umrah pilgrims as per the quota that had been agreed upon with various Islamic countries before the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic, according to Al-Sharq Alawsat newspaper.
Dr. Amr Al-Maddah, deputy minister of Hajj and Umrah for Hajj and Umrah services, said that all preparations to receive pilgrims have been completed and that the ministry has not faced any difficulties in receiving pilgrims from outside the country in recent days since the beginning of the new Umrah season.

“The ministry has the ability to cope with the influx of Umrah pilgrims in line with the quota granted to each Muslim country and the ministry is ready to deal with the number of pilgrims as in a normal situation,” he said.

Al-Maddah said the Ministry of Hajj is working to pair its applications Shaaer and Eatmarna to include all the services provided by the ministry in order for Hajj and Umrah pilgrims to benefit from them in addition to expanding the scope of these services in the two applications.

The Shaaer app was a great success in the last Hajj season as it contains all the information about the pilgrims’ ID, health and other services.

Shaaer smart card application is the official Hajj application launched by the Ministry of Hajj and Umrah to serve the pilgrims and facilitate the performance of their rites in a spiritual and safe atmosphere following health and regulatory controls and precautionary procedures to stem the spread of coronavirus.

Shaaer application was introduced during the last Hajj season. In the next phase the Shaaer smart card app will be issued for the Umrah pilgrims coming from abroad. The application serves as a digital identity for the pilgrim.

It contains pilgrim’s personal, health, and housing information, providing him with many qualitative services and enabling him to record his health information and review the schedules, as well as gain knowledge of the Hajj program.

The application also allows the pilgrim to know the assembly points and departure times from his housing in the holy sites, enabling him to choose meals through the menus allotted and receive alerts from the control center.

Al-Maddah said that the aim of the technologies launched by the ministry is to facilitate procedures for pilgrims and raise the quality of services, and what has been used this year constitutes the first phase among several phases including expanding the base of the services provided, with their permanent use for Hajj and Umrah pilgrims, especially those coming from outside the country.

He said that the ministry is going through a major development phase in the provision of technological services, especially under the pandemic circumstances.

The ministry seeks through this to make technology the basis for obtaining services and raising their quality in various paths, including shortening the waiting period and verifying identity, while providing electronic tickets.

Referring to the post pandemic situation, Al-Maddah said: “What is noticed at this phase is that the programs affiliated with the Ministry of Hajj codify the numbers in line with the accommodative capacity, and these numbers increase in each phase in accordance with the data that takes place through the programs that work to organize the service and raise the capacity.

“The quality of the unified services in these programs will expand with the start of containing the pandemic with provision of more diversified and accurate services keeping pace with the increase in the inflow of pilgrims from abroad.”

Regarding the protection of applications from intrusive penetration, Al-Maddah stressed that the applications that follow the ministry are frequently updated at security level to avoid any penetration or disruption of its services, explaining that there are moves to assemble all applications in one application, which includes all the services that the pilgrim needs throughout his entire journey.

This is what happened in the application of rituals in the Hajj, and it is expected that the coming period will witness a link between the applications of Shaaer and Eatmarna, he added.

Al-Maddah said that the use of the Ministry’s applications for pilgrims abroad is available for those coming from the Gulf countries or those coming on visit and tourism visas according to the paths of arrival and the type of visa with the availability of health requirements and the necessary quarantine procedures.

The application does not deal with those coming on Umrah visas issued through Umrah service companies.
Newsletter

Related Articles

Saudi Press
0:00
0:00
Close
Gold Could Reach Nearly $5,000 if Fed Independence Is Undermined, Goldman Sachs Warns
Uruguay, Colombia and Paraguay Secure Places at 2026 World Cup
Trump Administration Advances Plans to Rebrand Pentagon as Department of War Instead of the Fake Term Department of Defense
Tether Expands into Gold Sector with Profit-Driven Diversification
Trump’s New War – and the ‘Drug Tyrant’ Fearing Invasion: ‘1,200 Missiles Aimed at Us’
At the Parade in China: Laser Weapons, 'Eagle Strike,' and a Missile Capable of 'Striking Anywhere in the World'
Information Warfare in the Age of AI: How Language Models Become Targets and Tools
Israeli Airstrike in Yemen Kills Houthi Prime Minister
After the Shock of Defeat, Iranians Yearn for Change
YouTube Altered Content by Artificial Intelligence – Without Permission
Iran Faces Escalating Water Crisis as Protests Spread
More Than Half a Million Evacuated as Typhoon Kajiki Heads for Vietnam
HSBC Switzerland Ends Relationships with Over 1,000 Clients from Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Qatar, and Egypt
Sharia Law Made Legally Binding in Austria Despite Warnings Over 'Incompatible' Values
Dogfights in the Skies: Airbus on Track to Overtake Boeing and Claim Aviation Supremacy
Tim Cook Promises an AI Revolution at Apple: "One of the Most Significant Technologies of Our Generation"
Are AI Data Centres the Infrastructure of the Future or the Next Crisis?
Miles Worth Billions: How Airlines Generate Huge Profits
Zelenskyy Returns to White House Flanked by European Allies as Trump Pressures Land-Swap Deal with Putin
Beijing is moving into gold and other assets, diversifying away from the dollar
Cristiano Ronaldo Makes Surprise Stop at New Hong Kong Museum
Zelenskyy to Visit Washington after Trump–Putin Summit Yields No Agreement
High-Stakes Trump-Putin Summit on Ukraine Underway in Alaska
Iranian Protection Offers Chinese Vehicle Shipments a Cost Advantage over Japanese and Korean Makers
Saudi Arabia accelerates renewables to curb domestic oil use
Cristiano Ronaldo and Georgina Rodríguez announce engagement
Asia-Pacific dominates world’s busiest flight routes, with South Korea’s Jeju–Seoul corridor leading global rankings
Private Welsh island with 19th-century fort listed for sale at over £3 million
Sam Altman challenges Elon Musk with plans for Neuralink rival
Australia to Recognize the State of Palestine at UN Assembly
The Collapse of the Programmer Dream: AI Experts Now the Real High-Earners
Armenia and Azerbaijan to Sign US-Brokered Framework Agreement for Nakhchivan Corridor
British Labour Government Utilizes Counter-Terrorism Tools for Social Media Monitoring Against Legitimate Critics
WhatsApp Deletes 6.8 Million Scam Accounts Amid Rising Global Fraud
Nine people have been hospitalized and dozens of salmonella cases have been reported after an outbreak of infections linked to certain brands of pistachios and pistachio-containing products, according to the Public Health Agency of Canada
Texas Residents Face Water Restrictions While AI Data Centers Consume Millions of Gallons
Tariffs, AI, and the Shifting U.S. Macro Landscape: Navigating a New Economic Regime
India Rejects U.S. Tariff Threat, Defends Russian Oil Purchases
United States Establishes Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and Digital Asset Stockpile
Thousands of Private ChatGPT Conversations Accidentally Indexed by Google
China Tightens Mineral Controls, Curtailing Critical Inputs for Western Defence Contractors
OpenAI’s Bold Bet: Teaching AI to Think, Not Just Chat
BP’s Largest Oil and Gas Find in 25 Years Uncovered Offshore Brazil
JPMorgan and Coinbase Unveil Partnership to Let Chase Cardholders Buy Crypto Directly
British Tourist Dies Following Hair Transplant in Turkey, Police Investigate
WhatsApp Users Targeted in New Scam Involving Account Takeovers
Trump Deploys Nuclear Submarines After Threats from Former Russian President Medvedev
Germany’s Economic Breakdown and the Return of Militarization: From Industrial Collapse to a New Offensive Strategy
IMF Upgrades Global Growth Forecast as Weaker Dollar Supports Outlook
Politics is a good business: Barack Obama’s Reported Net Worth Growth, 1990–2025
×