The Maldives has received a total of 1,000 Hajj quotas for this year, and the government is trying to acquire more, Minister of Islamic Affairs Dr. Ahmed Zahir said on Wednesday.
The ministry already confirmed via Twitter that the Maldives had been granted a total of 1,000 slots to perform this year's Hajj pilgrimage. However, the ministry is actively working to extend the quota so that more pilgrims may make the journey to Saudi Arabia for the pilgrimage, the minister said today.
The Saudi Arabian government has declared that all the arrangements regarding Hajj will follow the standard procedures used before the Covid-19 pandemic.
From 2009 to 2019, the Saudi Arabian government allowed an average of 2.3 million pilgrims to visit Mecca for Hajj; in 2019, a total of 2.9 million pilgrims from all over the world entered Saudi Arabia.
However, following the pandemic, the Saudi government permitted only 1,000 pilgrims, which included foreigners and locals who were residing in the country.
In 2021, the Saudi government will allow foreigners and residents who were fully vaccinated to re-enter the country. The government permitted a total of 60,000 pilgrims that year, while a total of 899,533 pilgrims attended Mecca for the Hajj pilgrimage in 2022.
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