Manama: A group of Vietnamese Muslims will go on Hajj this year thanks to assistance from the Kuwait Endowments Public Foundation, an official at the Kuwaiti consulate in Vietnam has said.
Abdul Razzaq Al Khalifa, Acting Charge d'Affaires in Ho Chi Minh Abderrazaq Al said that the assistance was part of a drive to help Muslims in need of "brotherly gestures", Kuwait News Agency (Kuna) reported.
The would-be pilgrims were selected from a list of people meeting specific criteria through a raffle in the unprecedented move to help them, the official said.
According to statistics, over 80,000 Muslims live in Vietnam, mostly in southern regions of the country.
The Kuwaiti diplomat said that he was optimistic more benevolent actions would be extended to accommodate a higher number of Muslims in Vietnam.
In Manama, Shaikha Lulwa Bint Khalifa Al Khalifa, the daughter of the prime minister, has paid for the full expenses of 30 would-be pilgrims.
The annual assistance was extended to residents in the Hoora and Gudhaibya areas.
A decision by Saudi Arabia to extend the entry of Bahrain-based would-be pilgrims over the King Fahad Causeway has allowed 1,250 people on 25 buses to go ahead with their travel plans.
The move came after the passengers spent hours at the borders on the 25-kilometres causeway waiting for a solution that would allow them to reach Makkah.
