The Sultanate of Oman will maintain the pre-pandemic status quo in terms of the Haj pilgrims as was decided mutually with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, which had earlier curtailed the number of people who can visit the holy sites to perform the rituals in the wake of Covid-19 pandemic.
Accordingly, as many as 14,000 pilgrims will be able to perform Haj this year based on an agreement signed by the Ministry of Awqaf and Religious Affairs and the General Authority for Awqaf (GAA) of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
“We have signed an agreement with the General Authority for Awqaf (GAA) of Saudi Arabia where we agreed to maintain the status quo of pre-Covid time and as many as 14,000 pilgrims will be able to visit the holy sites during the Haj season 2023,” Ali al Ghafri from the Haj and Umrah Department of the ministry told the Observer.
In 2022, 6,428 pilgrims from Oman were allowed to perform Haj rituals through Awqaf, out of the 13,541 people who applied to perform Haj through the ministry, out of which 1,085 applicants were expatriates from different countries.
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