Cairo: Saudi Arabia will soon launch an edition of the Nusuk platform for services of Umrah or lesser pilgrimage in Malay, Malaysia’s official and national language.
The step was disclosed by Saudi Minister of Hajj and Umrah Tawfiq Al Rabiah during an official visit this week to Malaysia where he met with officials and discussed ways of facilitating the Umrah trips for pilgrims from Malaysia.
Al Rabiah said the Nusuk app will be made available in Malay to provide “facilitated and swift” services for the Malaysian Umrah pilgrims.
The Nusuk enables Muslims wishing to undertake the Umrah or visit the holy sites in Saudi Arabia to obtain the necessary visas and permits as well as to book related packages electronically.
The current season of Umrah, which can be undertaken around the year, got underway in Saudi Arabia in late June after the end of the annual Hajj pilgrimage that around 1.8 million Muslims from across the globe attended.
On the sidelines of a Nusuk roadshow, Al Rabiah reviewed the kingdom’s digital initiatives. They include the “Nusuk wallet” that enables pilgrims to handle their money digitally without needing to carry cash during the holy trip.
His talks in Malaysia also resulted in an agreement to form a joint working team to explore the possibility of expanding the Saudi Hajj-related initiative “Mecca Route” to cover the Malaysian Umrah pilgrims, the Saudi news agency SPA reported.
In 2018, the Saudi Interior Ministry relaunched the “Mecca Route” that gives pilgrims from several countries access to facilities. The initiative kicked off on a trial basis in 2017.
The facilities include the issuance of electronic visas at home, finalising passport procedures as well as tagging and sorting out luggage at the departure airports. On arrival in Saudi Arabia, those pilgrims head directly to their residences in the holy cities of Mecca and Medina while their luggage are delivered right to their residences.
The initiative applies to pilgrims from Malaysia, Indonesia, Morocco, Turkey Cote d’Ivoire, Pakistan and Bangladesh.
