Dubai: Saudi Arabia has extended the Umrah visa from one to three months for all Umrah performers of all nationalities, local media reported.
Minister of Hajj and Umrah Dr Tawfiq Al Rabiah made this announcement during his two-day official visit to Tashkent where the President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev received the Saudi minister at the conclusion of the visit.
During his visit, Saudi Arabia and Uzbekistan signed several cooperation agreements in various fields. The accords were primarily in the Hajj and Umrah, which reflects the great efforts of the leadership in serving Islam and Muslims and facilitating procedures for pilgrims and Umrah performers.
The minister added that the recent Hajj season saw the participation of some 12,000 Uzbek pilgrims after authorities increased the numbers of pilgrims following the easing of the COVID-19 pandemic.
He noted that more than 36,000 people from Uzbekistan have performed Umrah during the last two months, the majority of whom managed to visit Madinah and pray at Al Rawdah Al Sharifah and visited religious and historical sites in Madinah.